Just the Girl
by jackthepumpkin777
Summary: He needed a place to stay for a month, she was his best friend with an extra room. Uncomplicated enough, except when feelings start to develop that neither were prepared for.
1. Catboy and Stinkerbell

**Just the Girl**

**Chapter 1: Catboy and Stinkerbell**

_**"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream." - Jerry Greenfield**_

With the mid-August heat rush annihilating every living creature walking the streets of Tokyo, a small ice cream store in the middle of the garden square was sanctuary; land after months of being at sea; the place everyone crawled to. Only the strongest survived the walk in the heat and made it into the refreshing, air-conditioned building.

A teenage girl leaned against the cool glass that protected the ice cream from hungry customers. She watched through her pink bangs as another group of kids staggered their way into the parlour with their cheeks rosy, hair sweaty, and clothes sticking to their skin.

"Can't you just apologize to her?" She asked finally as she pushed off the cool glass and turned her attention to the older, much taller male standing beside her.

His deep blue eyes scanned the different flavours of ice cream in deep concentration, his brows slanting downwards. She never understood why he even took his options into consideration when they both knew he'd end up going for chocolate.

Ikuto slowly looked down at her with the most dead-panned expression she had ever seen. "I'm not going to apologize for telling the truth. Nadeshiko's nose _is_ huge."

They took a few steps closer to the till after a boy and his mother finally got their ice cream.

Amu flailed her arms as she huffed in disbelief. "Doesn't make it right to say it to her face! Now she's going to plot revenge and it'll be terrible!"

"What do you expect me to do, then?" Judging by the tone of his voice, he wasn't even planning on listening to what her response would be.

Amu crossed her arms in front of her, then dropped them back to her side. "I'm sure she'll understand if you apologize and let her know that you weren't having a good day. I mean, everyone has those grouchy days that make you say and do stupid things." She thought it was the perfect solution.

"Ah, yes…" Ikuto replied slowly before sending her a pointed look. "I seem to recall you having plenty of crabby days once a month. Do you want chocolate?"

Amu flushed a brilliant shade of red before giving a small nod.

"You still joining us for the movie night on Saturday?" The pinkette asked once her blush had calmed down, though her anger still remained from his previous comment. She wasn't that horrible when it came to her period. Ikuto just always happened to receive the worst of it.

Ikuto gave her a wary look. "Do you want me to?"

"Why, yes, yes I do. Then I can smother you with a pillow!" Amu exclaimed, throwing him a dark look.

The old man at the counter sported a sailor-like paper hat, crinkles at the corners of his friendly eyes, and a welcoming smile. He reached over the counter and handed Amu her double-scooped, triple chocolate ice cream - in a waffle cone. Ikuto once made the mistake of ordering it to come in a bowl, like he preferred his own. After spending the day being ignored, he knew never to make that mistake again, having to learn the hard way just how attached Amu was to those waffle cones.

"Here you are, miss." The elderly man's attention caught briefly on the Disney character printed on Amu's t-shirt. He looked back up at her eyes and smiled again, "Or should I say, 'Tinkerbell'."

Amu blushed as she smiled bashfully and accepted the ice cream from the man. "Thank you, sir." Her honey-coloured eyes wandered down to the floor as she waited for her blush to subside.

Ikuto grabbed a spoon and stabbed it into his own iced dessert.

"More like _Stinkerbell_." He uttered, pretending he didn't notice the extra deadly death glare that was thrown his way.

Amu's eyes turned black while steam blew out her nose as she huffed and marched towards the exit after paying.

"Shut up, catboy! He was just being charming." She scolded as they exited the parlour, not seeming to mind the heat as much as they did on their walk over.

Ikuto stopped rigid in his tracks as a grin split on Amu's lips once she realized what she did. Last Halloween they had gotten together with a group of friends to watch horror movies, only to end up going trick-or-treating instead. Ikuto hadn't brought a costume so he borrowed some cat ears and a tail. The nickname stuck ever since.

He pointed his spoon at her dangerously. "Don't use that name in public."

Amu plastered on her perfected innocent expression before chomping her mouth around the spoon and pulling it out of Ikuto's hand. "You dare threaten me with such a utensil." She mumbled as they continued walking through the park.

Seeing as how he wouldn't be making any progress with his half-melted ice cream without a utensil, Ikuto snatched the spoon back and allowed Amu to change the subject.

"Can we watch Bambi later?" She asked eagerly before wiping her mouth with a napkin. "It's been too long."

"Wasn't there a character in that movie named Buttface?" Ikuto asked bluntly after swallowing a spoonful of ice cream.

Amu nearly choked as she arched an eyebrow at the boy. "You mean 'Bambi'?"

"No…I don't know, maybe it was Buttwipe." Ikuto dropped the ordeal and took a bite of his ice cream.

Amu narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What's with you and butts?" Her honey-coloured eyes widened in accusation, pointing a judgemental finger at him as her jaw dropped. "You like it up the butt, don't you?"

Ikuto gave her an unimpressed glance and cleared his throat. "Knowing you and your kinkiness, I'm sure_ you_ like it." He sent her a mischievous smirk, enjoying her reaction. Of course only he would be capable of turning the tables so that she'd be the one supplying a reaction, even though she originally wanted to get one out of him. He was always so calm even when it came to uncomfortable questions. Just once she wanted to stump him.

"I'm sure I don't!" Amu exclaimed as her cheeks colored. "I firmly believe that nothing is supposed to go up there, as it's sole purpose is for exporting turd and not importing anything." Her face turned an even deeper shade of red once realizing that they were actually having this conversation. "J-just forget it! Never mind!"

"Oh, you're so witty." Ikuto commented in monotone. How could he resist teasing her when she blushed so easily? It was great. Of course not for her, but it was always entertaining for him to witness.

They strolled through the park until they reached a roundabout lined with benches. Amu slowly eased herself onto a hot bench, cringing as it touched her skin. Ikuto didn't seem to notice as he sat beside her and chucked his bowl and spoon into the trashcan next to him.

"You take up too much room, kid." He commented, poking Amu in the side to get her to budge over, which started them off on another round of quiet bickering.

An old lady shuffling past them paused a few feet away and leaned forward on her cane, smiling toothlessly at the duo. "How long have you been together?" She asked sweetly, her voice wavering.

Ikuto wrapped an arm around Amu's shoulders, pulling her close before sending the old lady a smirk. "About two years." He ignored Amu's feeble attempts of protest as she tried to squirm away from his hold.

The old lady's eyes nearly disappeared when she smiled. "Oh, how lovely. And before you know it, it'll be two hundred years." She commented, nodding eagerly as she shared her knowledge. She slowly continued her tread, using her wobbly cane to support practically all her weight. "You kids enjoy yourselves, now."

Once she had hobbled out of earshot, Amu started freaking out at Ikuto while he simply frowned and began to wonder how any couple could be together for two hundred years.

Amu pinched Ikuto's hand to get him to remove his arm from her shoulders. "You didn't have to lie to a nice old granny!"

Ikuto pouted and rubbed his injured hand. "You wound me. In my defence, she didn't specify if she meant how long we've been dating or how long we've been friends." He pointed out while continuing to rub his hand as he stood to his feet, turning around to face her. "You've been pretty aggressive today.." He commented slowly.

His expression dropped as he looked her in the eye and sighed. "It's that time of the month again." It was more of a statement than a question.

Amu smiled at him and stood up onto the bench so she could easily climb onto his back for the journey back to his house. He had promised her ice cream and a piggy back ride if she helped him clean the house and set up everything for his mom's surprise birthday party. The party would be starting in a couple hours, so they needed to head home.

She wrapped her arms around Ikuto's shoulders as he started their voyage back to the Tsukiyomi household. One thing that never grew old was a good piggy back ride.

"You know, I think you're the only one who can put up with my mood swings." The girl mused softly as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Don't get blood on my shirt." Was all Ikuto said in response, fighting a smile when she growled at him. Sticking his tongue out, he glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Bitchy _Stinkerbell_."


	2. Sketchy Kukai

_"...__You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember the time you wasted hanging out with your friends..." - Tom Petty_

Chapter 2: Sketchy Kukai

Amu grabbed one more bag of popcorn from a cupboard in the kitchen and tossed it into the plastic bag that dangled from her wrist. The bright sunlight trickling in through the kitchen curtains made her turn her back to the window and raid the fridge to pass time as she waited for Rima to get out of the bathroom.

Unbeknownst to her, her dad had slowly shimmied into the kitchen behind her, crouching on the other side of the island and poking his eyes out over the countertop at her. "But we were going to refurbish the guest room today." He whimpered.

Nearly jumping out of her skin at the intrusion of the soft voice, Amu glared over her shoulder before grabbing a can of pop from the fridge, adding it to the collection in her bag. "Papaaaa, we already talked about this." She stated, finally turning around to glare at him fully. "Mom said I should be allowed to visit with friends this summer, unlike last year where all we did was take that terrible road trip around Japan."

Tsumugu flinched and shrunk back, clutching his broken heart. "B-but it was fun watching the new blooming flowers and watching the stars…"

"And getting peed on by Ami nearly every night, then being forced to wake up at the crack of dawn the next morning just to drive for eight more hours." Amu finished in monotone, her expression deadpanned. "Yes, yes, it was quite amazing." She set the plastic bag onto the island in the middle of the kitchen and tied it shut.

"But why would you rather hang out with friends?" He whined. "My little girl's growing up too fast and I don't like it."

Amu sighed deeply and stared at her dad. "Papa, we're just going to watch some movies. I'll be back before bedtime." She walked around the island and hugged Tsumugu tightly. "Don't worry about me. I'm still your little girl."

At that instant, the woman of the house decided to make an appearance and strolled into the kitchen happily, smiling at the two as she set a pile of clean plates on the counter. "Has he finally accepted the fact that you're old enough to have male friends?"

Amu's eyes widened in horror as she felt Tsumugu tense up. Releasing her dad, she moved closer to her mom and sent a glance down the hallway, wishing Rima would hurry up and be done in the washroom so they could leave.

"What do boys have to do with this movie marathon thing?" Tsumugu asked quietly, sending a narrow-eyed look from his daughter to his wife.

Midori walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "She'll also be with Rima-chan, dear. Plus, you've met Kukai-kun. He's a very nice boy."

Tsumugu stubbornly shook his head, crossing his arms sternly. "I don't remember any Kukai. The only boy I know of is that Tsukiyomi character."

"Ikuto." Amu mumbled. Something told her that right now wouldn't be the best time to tell him that Ikuto would be there as well.

Jaw nearly smashing to the floor, Tsumugu's eyes widened as he pointed an accusing finger at Amu. "Look at this! Defying me already!" His voice went high pitched at the last part.

As he rambled on about how no one understood his viewpoint, Rima made an appearance and smoothed out her shirt as she came to a stop in front of Amu.

"Ready to-"

Her sentence was cut short by Amu latching onto her arm and dragging her out of the house and into the summer heat, yelling hasty goodbyes to her parents on the way out.

Rima sent her a look through her eyelashes before she slipped her overly-large sunglasses in front of her eyes. "What was that about?"

Amu sighed loudly, swinging the food-filled plastic bag in the air as they walked. "Just everyone freaking out about boys again."

The petite blond hummed knowingly before removing her light sweater, already feeling the effects of the blazing sun as they wandered down the street.

This summer was already turning out to be an unforgiving one, and Amu was looking forward to cooler days that were hopefully headed their way.

"You've got the goods?" Rima asked as she eyed the bag in Amu's hands.

"Why, yes I do!" The girl being questioned announced proudly. Kukai was renting the movies, so Amu offered to buy the snacks so he wouldn't be completely broke by the end of the night. Of course he had gratefully accepted the offer in a heartbeat.

"He'd better get some horror movies like he said he would." Rima uttered. "That fool will probably end up getting something stupid like a comedy."

Amu held back the urge to giggle, being fully aware of how attached Rima was to comedies, though she refused to let anyone know. It really wasn't anything to be ashamed of.

"He'll probably get something sketchy by accident." Amu was beginning to wonder which she'd prefer, a disturbing movie that showed too much skin or a horror movie that would haunt her nightmares for the next few weeks. She never had been a fan of scary films.

Rima snorted. "Yeah, like how he 'accidentally' found himself with a nasty magazine in his hands while at the supermarket."

Amu laughed as she hooked arms with the petite blond beside her and crossed the street. Even though they loved teasing him about it, they both knew that Kukai was more likely to be found reading magazines for kids than inappropriate girly ones. When Rima spotted him with that kind of magazine in his hand, he was actually in the middle of picking it up from the floor and placing it back in its spot, as it had been knocked down by somebody else. Of course when he tried to explain this to her, she wouldn't hear a word of it as she smiled evilly at him and proceeded to walk away without saying anything, much to his annoyance.

"Nagi was going to come tonight, too, right?" Amu asked as they turned down the street leading up to Kukai's house. She knew she shouldn't have asked, but it was almost a hobby to get Rima worked up.

Even though half her face was covered with sunglasses, Amu could tell the look she was receiving wasn't exactly a pleasant one.

"I wouldn't know." Rima replied coolly as they came to a halt at Kukai's front door. He answered in a heartbeat, clearly almost dying of boredom.

"I swear I was about to die of boredom!" he declared dramatically while closing the door behind them.

The two girls got comfortable in the living room while Kukai dug through his room to find the movies he had just gotten a few hours before.

"Kukai, are Nagi and Nadeshiko coming too?" Amu yelled from her spot on the couch so Kukai could hear her from down the hall.

"No, they had some family gathering thing that came up, so it'll be just us three tonight." The brunette yelled back.

Right, and Kukai's girlfriend, Utau, who was also Ikuto's sister, had concerts to play at all weekend long, so she was checked off the list also. Wait a minute, but what about-

"What about Ikuto?" Rima asked, only semi-interested as Kukai reappeared in the room with the movies.

He shrugged before plopping down onto the floor in front of the TV to put in the first movie. "I heard he was looking for apartments today, so I kind of doubt he'd decide to make an appearance-"

"Apartments?" Amu repeated, obviously confused, "What's he looking at apartments for?" she asked as she slowly took a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting by Rima's legs. Was Ikuto getting an idea around what kind of place he'd be able to afford after graduation? That reasoning didn't sound like Ikuto at all. Even if he was entering his last year of high school in just over a month, it was still too early for the likes of him to start planning for after high school. Amu hadn't even given moving out a serious thought, though she still had another year until graduation.

Kukai turned around to give her a confused look. "Didn't you hear? Apparently he and his step-dad got into another big fight so he decided to move out 'cause he didn't want to put up with Kazuomi's crap anymore. At least, this is what Utau tells me."

Amu had no idea what emotion she should act on first. She felt hurt and angry at Ikuto for not telling her sooner, but also worried for him. If he got a place all to himself, he'd also be paying bills and taxes...he'd be forced to grow up so fast even though he was only seventeen. Amu just knew that'd cause some kind of damage later on in his life, if not right now. Ikuto and Kazuomi argued all the time. Maybe all they needed was to be apart for a little while.

"I'll be right back." Amu announced before climbing off the couch. "Kukai, can I use your room to make a call?"

Once getting permission, she told them to start the movie without her before she hurried down the hall as she waited impatiently for Ikuto to answer his phone. He answered on the fourth ring, his voice rough from sleep.

"Were you just asleep?" Amu asked, unimpressed. She glanced around Kukai's green-walled, messy room before deciding on sitting at his desk.

"Yeah, and look who just woke me up. Again." He replied before yawning loudly into the phone.

Amu had to admit, she felt kind of bad. It seemed like she was always waking him up from his naps. She had the worst timing imaginable.

"Sorry," She apologized quietly before quickly saying, "but I thought you were apartment hunting today." Scanning through the piles of papers flung carelessly on the desk in front of her, she decided to at least do a little tidying while she sat waiting for Ikuto's response.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

"Kukai told you?" He guessed.

"Yes." The girl grumbled as she neatly stacked Kukai's biology notes in one pile and his calculus notes in another. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped somehow-"

"You would've worried too much about it." Ikuto replied easily. "I don't want to drag someone else into this."

Amu frowned, pouting as she drew imaginary shapes on Kukai's desk with her finger. "Would you consider maybe just living somewhere else for like...a month? Then you don't have to completely grow up just yet. It seems like you just need some time away from your step-dad so you can both cool down and think rationally."

He seemed to be considering this, as his end went quiet after she had finished speaking. Amy waited in silence as she held her breath, almost tempted to cross her fingers in hopes that he'd agree to the idea. She just knew that Ikuto living on his own right now would only result in him being more stressed than he already was, which he wouldn't benefit from at all. She didn't want him doing anything stupid when she could do something about it.

"...What did you have in mind?" He finally asked, agreeing to this plan a little reluctantly. Of course he had been looking forward to moving out. What teenage boy wouldn't? But whether he liked it or not, he knew Amu had a point.

Amu frowned. She hadn't exactly thought her idea through that far. Kukai had about a trillion brothers already in this house, adding in another boy wouldn't be fair on his parents. Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed as it hit her right between the eyes. Wasn't her dad saying something earlier today about fixing up the guest room?

"You can stay with me!"


	3. And So It Begins

**Chapter 3: And So it Begins **

**_"I can't_ _stand unpacking." - Shannen Doherty_**

So she really didn't exactly think this through. Whatsoever.

Amu breathed out a weak tinkle of laughter as she occupied her hand by scratching her neck, trying desperately to escape the looks of her parents. Her dad, in particular. You know it's about to get serious when your parents sit you down at the kitchen table and take forever to speak up and address the topic at hand.

"You'll think on it?" Amu guessed, trying to relieve the tension.

Ami then decided to choose this moment to waltz up to the trio and set her fifth grade math homework in the middle of the table. "Mama, can you help me with this division question? I think I'll quit school if I get another stupid question like it."

There was still a tense silence that emitted the air. Ami looked from her sister to her parents, her auburn pigtails bouncing around with the motion of her head. Realizing it might not be the best moment, she pursed her lips and quietly slid the math book back into her hands, backing away while mumbling something about asking the hobo on the street for help instead.

Once a few more minutes passed without so much of a blink from her parents, Amu blew her hair out of her face and crossed her arms, crouching back into her chair.

"You both know Ikuto well! You can trust me and him being under the same roof." She reassured, leaning forwards. "It's not like we'll do anything. Plus you can even remove the doors off the guest room and my room so you know that we aren't doing any funny business behind closed doors."

Tsumugu was nearly translucent by this point. So maybe she shouldn't have brought up the possibility of 'funny business' ever occurring. It's not like it would, though. They were friends and nothing more.

"Mama." Amu pleaded, turning her gaze away from her unnaturally pale dad to look at her mom. "Isn't this a better situation than me letting him stay here behind your back and letting him sleep in my room every night?"

An unnatural gurgle sounded from somewhere in Tsumugu's throat at hearing this.

Midori rested her elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her fist, eyebrows slanting downwards as she took this plan into consideration. She did trust Ikuto, but nonetheless, he was still a teenage boy, and Amu was a teenage girl. But a point Amu had brought up earlier was the whole thing about Ikuto moving out on his own and having to grow up too soon. If the only alternative to him living with a friend was living on his own…

Midori frowned and removed her glasses, cleaning them with her shirt as she weighed the options as Tsumugu slowly started to regain color.

Amu worried her bottom lip as she waited in silence for a reply. It was hard enough trying to get Ikuto to agree to it. The stubborn arse was set on living on his own and finally being a 'grown man' as Amu put it. But after the longest phone call of her life with him, he finally agreed to it- probably because he figured Tsumugu would just say 'no' anyways. Sometimes he was too smart for his own good. Amu hadn't even thought of her dad's reaction at the time, which was probably the stupidest thing she had done so far in her life. Of course in the end it all came down to her dad's decision on the matter.

Sliding her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose, Midori turned her gaze to her eldest daughter. "How long was this going to be for?" She inquired.

The simple question flickered some hope into Amu as her eyes brightened. "A month."

Midori seemed to take this into thought as she grew quiet again. Finally, she crossed her arms and flicked up a finger as she spoke. "I, for one, would be fine with the idea."

Her announcement brought life to Tsumugu and a smile to Amu's face.

"Really?" The father and daughter chimed in unison, the tone of their voices complete opposites.

Midori nodded once. "We'll keep the doors on, but I don't want either of you leaving your rooms after eleven at night. I trust you, Amu, and I also trust that Ikuto will be respectful. But if something were to happen between the two of you, I will enforce more rules and will consider finding him a new place to stay."

Amu nodded along eagerly as her mom spoke. Midori always had been relatively easy-going, so getting her to hop on board with the idea wasn't too hard. Tsumugu, on the other hand…he was a completely different story. Plus, he still hadn't regained color to his face.

Both Amu and Midori sat and waited for Tsumugu to speak. At first he just remained silent as the color slowly started returning to him as his pupils regained their natural size.

Pressing his lips together, he exhaled sharply. "For a month?" He clarified. "Just a month and no longer?"

"Yes, papa." Amu replied meekly.

It seemed that everything was capable of growing quieter as Amu waited for what Tsumugu would say next. He had met Ikuto on numerous occasions and knew what he was like, whether that be a good or bad thing, so he knew who he would be accepting into his house. Now if he could just get over the fact that Ikuto was a boy, then the problem would be solved.

Tsumugu slowly stood up from his seat and drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "Fine." He said quietly before walking away. "I'm going to go die now."

"Thank you, papa!" Amu beamed as she also got out of her seat and hugged her dad from behind before he managed to escape to his office at the end of the hall.

Releasing a deep breath, Amu smiled to herself. That went a lot better than she expected. Then again, she was preparing herself for her dad to whip out a few machine guns she knew he had lying around the house somewhere in case of situations like these. But he didn't! Yet.

Without another word, she bounded up the stairs and flew into her room, eager to give Ikuto a call.

* * *

><p>The guest room walls were painted a deep green, with cream-colored curtains accenting the one window perfectly. Of course one look at it didn't scream 'Ikuto', but it's not as if it was a girly yellow color like Amu's walls, so it wasn't too terrible for a boy.<p>

Amu lounged on the quilted bed with her head dangling off the foot of the mattress, watching an upside-down Ikuto stack another empty box onto the ever-growing pile of discarded cardboard. Amu couldn't even call it a pile, really. There were so few boxes in the room since Ikuto didn't bring over that many things. All he had to unpack were most of his clothes, a few books, and only like two things for the bathroom everyone shared - minus Tsumugu and Midori. Those lucky bums had an ensuite, of course.

"Is your plan to wear the same shirt everyday for the next month?" She asked from her spot in the middle of the bed.

Ikuto placed a few books down onto the bedside table with a 'clunk' before glancing over his shoulder at her. "Reduce, reuse, recycle." was all he slyly said in return.

Amu rolled her eyes and flipped onto her side so she could look at him better. He pushed the long sleeves of his black shirt up to his elbows as he moved onto another box - this one containing clothes. "It's amazing how little guys can survive on." She mused, more to herself than to him.

"Because we're not picky." He proved his point by dumping his clothes out of the box and into a drawer, the material lying rumpled and jumbled together. Just when he was pushing the drawer shut, Amu quickly jumped up and stopped him.

"No, no, no, nooo." She began, opening the drawer fully once again as Ikuto stood quietly beside her.

She removed the clothes and slumped them onto the bed. Taking a pair of jeans from the pile, she walked back over to where Ikuto was standing and folded them neatly before placing them into a drawer.

Gesturing to the tidiness of the drawer, Amu turned to look at Ikuto and wiggled her eyebrows. "See? Pretty magical."

Ikuto hummed. "Very."

Amu tried to resist the childish urge to stick out her tongue, but alas, she gave in and stuck it out at him anyways before grabbing a shirt off the bed, beginning to fold that one too.

A vibrating in her back pocket put their bickering on hold as Ikuto took a seat on the bed next to his clothes, handing Amu a shirt as she answered her phone.

"Hey," Rima greeted boredly, sounding distracted by something in the background, "Nagihiko wanted to gather up the gang and hang out at the lake tomorrow. You'd better not let me be the only girl there."

"Are you inviting me to come with?" Amu teased, folding another shirt Ikuto silently handed to her.

Rima was probably glaring at the phone, Amu figured. The blond sighed dramatically. "I couldn't care less! ... But seriously, meet me at my house tomorrow at noon with your swimsuit. I have to go. There's something on tv."

Slipping the phone back into the pocket of her jeans, Amu grabbed a hanger from the closet and took the coat Ikuto was holding out for her. "Rima, Nagi, and everyone else are going to the lake tomorrow. Do you think you'll come?"

Ikuto lay on his stomach on the bed, holding one of the empty boxes in front of him with one hand, while the other hand held a marker that he was drawing on the box with, completely tuned out to the world.

"Ikuto?" Amu tried again, outstretching her foot to poke his shoulder with it.

His deep blue orbs finally looked away from whatever masterpiece he was creating, the serene expression permanent on his facial features as he looked at her. "Maybe." he replied.

Amu exhaled loudly. It was almost impossible to get him outside, let alone with a group. They were always fine one-on-one, but he got bored too easily when there were lots of people around.

The girl's jaw dropped as she remembered one crucial factor included in going to a lake. "My swimsuit!" She breathed out, mainly to herself, though she doubted Ikuto was listening even if his gaze did flicker towards her for a brief moment. "I don't know where I'd be able to find it!"

For all she knew it was probably at the bottom of her closet, underneath the layers of clothes, shoes, scraps of paper, fossils..who knew what was in there.

"When in doubt," Ikuto murmured as he placed the box down to smirk at Amu, "go without."

Amu sputtered out a string of insults before hitting him over the head and marching off in search of a bathing suit, leaving Ikuto behind to humor himself with her reaction.

Only 30 days to go.


	4. No Escaping Those Suckers

**_"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room." - Christie Todd Whitman_**

****Chapter 4: No Escaping Those Suckers**  
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Rima was fanning herself with a folded up magazine as she lounged back in her beach chair, sliding her sunglasses out of her hair and onto the bridge of her nose as she watched Nadeshiko try to pull Amu into the water with her.

"There are mosquitoes around here!" Amu wailed, "I'm going to be eaten alive!"

Rima smirked from her shaded seat as she sprayed one more squirt of bug spray into the air around her. That's why she wasn't going to swim. Plus it was far too hot to emerge from the shade, even if it was to go swimming in the cold lake.

Nagihiko laughed at his sister, who was quickly growing flustered as she pulled Amu closer toward the water. He knew if Amu didn't cooperate soon, he might have to take matters into his own hands.

Ikuto, who was already standing in the water beside Kukai, smirked at the struggling pinkette. "The mosquitoes aren't too bad over here. You'll be fine."

Amu paused, taking this into thought.

At least twice every summer she always ended up with brutal mosquito bites all over her skin after going swimming. Her goal this year was to avoid those horrid insects at all costs.

"R-really?" She squeaked out, her voice lacking trust.

"Really." Ikuto confirmed as he outstretched his arms. "Come here, you."

Amu's cheeks colored as she glared at him, her gaze catching briefly on a stray droplet of water that slowly dragged down his bare chest, stopping just above his belly button. "Pervert." She grumbled before quickly averting her eyes.

"Amuuu, come on." Nadeshiko sighed. "You know you'll end up swimming soon enough. Just rip it off like a band aid."

While the stubborn golden-eyed girl continued to withstand Nadeshiko's pushing, Kukai nudged Ikuto's side, a slow grin broadening on his athletic facial features before he hurried out of the water towards an unsuspecting Amu, while Nagihiko, Rima, and Ikuto all watched the entertaining scene fold out before them.

"I-I-I'll join you in a few minutes, but-" Amu's sentence of protest was cut short when a pair of strong arms hooked her into a hold, Kukai securely pressing Amu to his chest as he ran back into the cold water with Amu flailing her limbs as she screamed out loudly.

Kukai laughed when the water lapped against his hips, "Sorry, Hinamori. Do it like a band aid!"

With that, he released her from his grip, letting the girl plunge into the water that attacked her skin with icy tingles as she quickly emerged to the surface.

Nadeshiko laughed from her safe haven on dry land as she watched Amu lunge after Kukai, who was already mad-dashing in the opposite direction as fast as possible with the weight of the water pressing against him.

"You're a dead man, Kukai!" Amu yelled before tripping and tumbling back under water.

Rima peered over the pages of her comic book and hid a smile.

Her friends were insane. Whenever they weren't competing, they were bickering and making fun of each other. It was entertaining to watch, but she knew that if she were the one being chucked into the water against her will, she wouldn't be too pleased either. But that's where she and Amu were different- Amu was way more forgiving.

Noticing Nagihiko making his way towards her, the petite blond instantly flickered her gaze back to the pages in front of her. If he even dared to try to get her into the water, she would whip out the pepper spray from her purse faster than he could say, "Don't hurt my unnaturally long, luscious hair!"

Rima frowned to herself. Luscious? Okay, so maybe she liked his hair. Not that she'd ever admit it though.

"Shortie." Nagihiko greeted affectionately with a nod and a smile. Rima hummed in response, seeming uninterested to the untrained eye, but Nagi knew better and sat on the towel laid out on the ground beside her chair.

"It's a bit of a waste, isn't it?" He asked after a moment of silence.

Rima arched an eyebrow and glanced in his direction. He unscrewed the lid from his water bottle and took a drink before continuing.

"Your swimsuit looks cute on you, but you won't go in the water and enjoy it."

Rima rolled her eyes and looked out at Nagi's twin, Nadeshiko, as she hurled an angry splash of water directed at Ikuto. Nadeshiko looked cute in her light purple bikini. Amu also looked cute. Glancing back at Nagihiko, Rima sighed quietly. He probably complimented every other girl just as easily.

"When is Tadase coming home?" She asked, deciding to change the subject.

Nagihiko caught her gaze and smiled before she turned away. Lounging out onto his back, the purple-haired boy started searching through the bag of food in front of him.

"Sometime next week. I think Thursday."

Rima nodded boredly, not ready to admit just how jealous she was that Tadase got to go on vacation and she didn't. She usually went with her dad every year, but this summer he was too busy to even drop by and see her, let alone vacation with her. She was fine with it, she guessed, since it never was all that fair to her mom, who stayed home every year. Though it would've been awkward if she joined them. Ever since the divorce, Rima's parents hadn't been able to stay in the same room for too long before they found a topic to argue about.

Sighing at this, the blond turned her attention back to her comic book as Nagihiko stood up.

"I meant what I said." He reassured as he began to walk away. He then stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "You look very cute today."

Now, typically she'd try to say something like, 'Of course I look cute today. What you really should be saying is how I look exceptionally cute every single day.' but she couldn't spit out the words as she watched his retreating form return to the water.

Eyebrows slanting downwards, Rima repressed the urge to groan from frustration. She was having an off-day, that was all. She'd be back to normal in no time and would return to finding Nagihiko to be the most unbearable human being on the planet.

Don't ask why. She didn't even know why she was supposed to dislike him so much.

Another splash interrupted her line of thoughts as she looked out towards the lake again, where Nadeshiko was just emerging from the water, clearly unimpressed with Kukai's 'throw-everyone-into-the-water' stunt.

Rima smirked. He would be dead by sundown.

* * *

><p>She sputtered, scoffed, and glared some more at her yellow walls as she rested on her stomach on her bed, hands folded underneath her chin. She <em>told <em>him she was going to get bitten. But of course, he managed to convince her that there were absolutely no mosquitoes around. Jerk.

Amu continued to think of the different kinds of insults she could throw at him, but the irritation biting at her limbs was driving her to the point of insanity, so much so that her mind wasn't even able to work properly. And it was all his fault. Of course she wouldn't blame herself for not knowing better - because really, it _was_ all his fault.

"I'm sitting on you." Ikuto forewarned calmly before she felt his weight crush down on her lower back.

"N-no! Get off!" She squirmed and fidgeted, but he wouldn't budge. If anything, it was just entertaining him.

Idiot. Fat-face. Gimped goat. She frowned at the last one. She'd make sure to never let that one leave her head, otherwise she'd never hear the end of it.

Amu closed her eyes, lying with her t-shirt and shorts on over top of her bikini, her shirt rolled up at the back for her shoulder blades to be in sight so Ikuto could treat the mosquito bites that had taken up residence there. Of _course _they had to be out of her reach so she couldn't treat them herself. But even if she could reach that place on her back without much difficulty, she still would make him help her, just so he had to suffer a bit, too.

There was nothing she hated more than mosquitoes. She had already found one bite on her arm, three on her shoulder blades, and another one on the back of her thigh. She wasn't even out of the water for that long. She really had no idea how they could find and attack her so quickly.

"You seem to be used to this position." Ikuto commented suggestively, still sitting on her lower back as he dabbed a cool sponge of baking soda and water to the bites. He paused to roll up his navy blue sleeves before continuing once again, gently pushing Amu's hair over her shoulder so it was no longer in his way.

Amu tried not to roll her eyes as she reopened them. "What are you talking about?"

"You do like it up the butt, don't you?"

Amu scowled and attempted to look over her shoulder at him, trying and failing to hold back a blush. "Ikuto! Are you really bringing up that topic again?"

"I'm just saying you seem comfortable." He said innocently with a smirk followed shortly after with a wiggle of his eyebrows before he turned his gaze back to her shoulders.

Scoffing, Amu turned her head back to rest her chin onto her hands again. "I can't believe you. Then again…it's-

"Not that surprising." Ikuto finished for her as he dabbed the sponge against one of the other bites.

Since the words were taken right from her, Amu closed her mouth angrily and huffed. It didn't take long for her to resume her role of glaring at the walls, letting her eyes travel over the soft white curtains in front of her balcony door, then to the collage of pictures above her desk. Half of them were of her and Ikuto. The idiot. The gimped goat.

"In my defense, I'm not used to this position, I just really don't care what it takes in order for these bites to be taken care of. Even if it means letting you molest me." Amu finally said.

Just to push his limits, Ikuto did a little wiggle so his butt rubbed against hers.

"IKUTO!"

He snickered before continuing to press the chilly sponge against her back.

"I hate mosquitoes." Amu whimpered, not so much the itchy bites she had to deal with, but the crazy lunatic that had to help mend the bites.

"There's no escaping those suckers."

Amu glared up at the ceiling. "Oh you're so punny." She then exhaled loudly, nibbling on her lower lip. "You know, it's really all _your _fault that I'm in this situation. If you weren't like, 'oh yeah, there's no mosquitoes at all over here', then I wouldn't have gone into the water!" She huffed, ignoring Ikuto's amused look when she imitated his voice.

"I don't see how it's my fault." He responded simply. "Kukai's the one who threw you in."

Right. She'd have to get him back for that one.

"W-whatever." Amu mumbled. She still temporarily hated Ikuto. Almost more than mosquitoes...but not quite.

Slowly rising from his seat on Amu's back, Ikuto climbed off the bed and patted Amu's bum. "We're finished." He quickly escaped the room with a sneaky look, very aware that his action just ignited a fire.

Amu wiped his lingering touch off her butt and glared at the doorway, "Ikuto!"

Scratch that. He was just as annoying as a mosquito.


	5. Tomatoes Attacking the Potatoes

**Chapter 5: Tomatoes Attacking the Potatoes**

Amu was sleeping. The kind of sleep that made her body feel like it was sinking deep into the ocean of blankets, about ready to disappear altogether - not that she'd mind. Being surrounded by warm blankets and pillows seemed the best way to leave this world.

Her breathing was deep and even, letting out an occasional soft snore before she'd rearrange either her arms or legs. She could've stayed sleeping for days if her body would let her - also if _he_ didn't decide to take this moment to wake her.

"Amuuu-chan." He sang quietly in her ear, leaning over her sleeping form with a toothbrush sticking out from between his teeth.

Realizing he wasn't going to get much of a reaction from her, Ikuto frowned and removed the toothbrush from his mouth, holding it in his hand before leaning closer to the sleeping girl.

"Amu." He spoke in her ear. She stirred, her eyelids fluttering open briefly before she grumbled and shut them again.

Ikuto stood up straight again and frowned, twirling his toothbrush in his fingers. Leaning down once again, he smirked before biting her ear, purposely leaving behind a glob of toothpaste. If she didn't fully wake from the bite, she would definitely wake from the peppermint goop that now coated her ear.

"IKUTOOO!" Amu shrieked as she scrambled to the other side of her bed while rubbing the toothpaste off her ear.

He had resumed brushing his teeth and stared at her, deadpanned, raising the hand that didn't have the toothbrush in it. "Yo."

Through the tangled mess of pink hair, Amu glared darkly at him. "What could possibly be so important that you had to wake me up at this ungodly hour!" She attempted to rake a hand through her matted locks, only to end up getting her fingers entangled as well.

Ikuto watched her, silently guiding the toothbrush along his teeth.

Amu sputtered in annoyance when she finally untangled her fingers and shot a look at the clock. It was ten? It didn't feel like it. It felt like she had fallen asleep just twenty minutes ago. This made her feel like sobbing until she was just a pool of tears that Ikuto would have to awkwardly stare at before deciding to mop up.

"We've been requested by your mom to get groceries for dinner." Ikuto said plainly as he wandered into the hall, presumably venturing into the bathroom, Amu figured.

"Why can't she get it herself?" The pinkette yelled so he would be able to hear her. She stumbled out of bed and padded across the cold floor, over to her closet in search of clothes cool enough to withstand the blistering heat. As she stared, eyes glazed over at the lack of clothes, she wanted to sob again. Then go back to sleep. Maybe do them both at the same time.

Ikuto's voice sounded from the open bathroom door, "She gave me a list before leaving with Ami. They had other things to do." He stopped to spit into the sink, the sound of running water following shortly after. "Have you seen my shirt?"

Amu rolled her eyes as she pulled on a pair of shorts. "I don't know. You have many of them, you see."

"The blue one," he tried again as he reappeared in her doorway just after she tugged on a shirt, "the one you say clashes horribly with my hair."

Amu turned to shoot him a dark look. She needed to throw away that shirt somehow without him knowing. It really did clash with his hair.

She fumbled with putting on her socks, frowning up at the taller boy.

"I think I saw it on the washing machine."

And just like that, he disappeared down the stairs to traipse into the laundry room.

After brushing her teeth and tying her hair up, Amu also wandered downstairs, blowing her bangs out of her eyes as she searched her surroundings for Ikuto.

He was just coming out of the laundry room, his familiar blue shirt pulled on only half-way, giving Amu a good look at the top of his boxers and his belly button.

Once again she found her gaze caught on the bit of skin available for the public to see. Public meaning only her. And maybe Tsumugu, who was glowering at them from his seat at the island in the middle of the kitchen. He sat hunched over with his eyes watching the two carefully from over the rim of his huge mug of coffee.

Amu quickly recomposed herself as she grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter opposite of her dad. Such a feast of a breakfast. One measly apple. Knowing Ikuto, she wouldn't have time to make a proper breakfast, as he'd be wanting to leave as soon as possible so they could return as soon as possible. She didn't exactly disagree with this idea, as she just wanted to get the shopping over and done with.

"Where are you going?" Tsumugu asked sullenly, his voice slightly muffled from the coffee cup still surrounding his mouth.

"Mama wanted us to get some food for dinner." She replied easily after drying the apple off on a nearby towel.

Tsumugu's gaze slithered over to Ikuto, who was standing in the entryway of the house, just finished putting on his shoes. "He has to go too?"

Amu sent her dad a warning look. "Papa! Be nice."

She was sure he would've burst into tears and run away if Ikuto wasn't right there.

Instead, Tsumugu slowly raised from his seat, frowning deeply as he wandered into the living room, not without sending Ikuto another look of disapproval, which the teenager responded to by sending him a cheeky smirk. Something told Amu that Ikuto _wanted_ to make Tsumugu crap bricks.

"Okay! Well, time to go!" The girl decided quickly before hurrying onto the street.

After re-reading the grocery list a few times, Amu attempted to sigh happily and handed it back to Ikuto. Today would be a good day. It had to be. It was off to a crumby start, but she was determined to make the best of this beautiful, summer day.

"This Saturday should be a horror movie night." Ikuto stated suddenly.

Amu's heart nearly burst out of her chest from fear. She tried not to let her outside lose composure as she looked over at him, shrugging as casually as possible.

"I'm sure everyone else would be fine with it. We haven't had one of those in a while."

That was true, since Amu had purposely veered the whole 'horror movie night' topic into a different direction whenever it was brought up. In the end, they always ended up choosing comedies instead. But she knew that if she continued to put it off, everyone would soon discover her irrational fear of scary films that never failed to haunt her dreams for nights afterwards.

Ikuto's eyes slid over to look at Amu as he rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. He had been suspicious of her mixture with horror movies for quite some time, but never had the opportunity to prove his hunch right.

"But we wouldn't want you to get scared." He whispered especially close to her ear, his breath tingling all the way down her neck.

Amu lunged a few feet to the side, karate chopping the air around her. "Pervert! Stop doing the ear thing!"

From that point on in their walk, she stayed as far away from him as the sidewalk would allow her.

As they entered the parking lot of the grocery store, Ikuto noticed the large space between them and nonchalantly slipped his arm around Amu's shoulders and pulled her closer, ignoring her loud protests.

He really couldn't help himself. It was much too entertaining to make her freak out.

Amu finally managed to pry Ikuto's arm off of her as they reached the produce section of the store. Those oranges looked like they would seriously hurt if they were to be thrown at the back of somebody's head. She glared at Ikuto when his back was turned as he collected a fresh head of lettuce. It was tempting. Oh so tempting. But, she decided against it and set the orange back down to be with its family.

Ikuto wandered back over to her and set the lettuce into the basket she was holding. He looked over Amu's shoulder to check what was next on the list she held in her hand, not noticing her suddenly tense up.

Her golden orbs were wide as she froze in her spot, watching the one-and-only Saaya Yamabuki waltz into the produce section just a few feet away. And here she thought it would be a good day. It's not that she hated Saaya, she just couldn't stand how competitive she was. Not to mention, she'd been trying to snag Ikuto for years. The protective, best friend part of Amu wouldn't let that happen, even if Saaya was the most gorgeous girl in school. Still, looks didn't define personality.

"No, no, no, no." Amu whispered urgently, spinning around in a full circle before hiding behind Ikuto. She was not in the mood to be challenged to a ridiculous competition. Realizing Saaya would come over to talk anyway, since Ikuto was impossible to hide with his height, Amu sighed and reappeared from behind him.

Ikuto still didn't know what was happening. He allowed his gaze to follow hers and his eyebrows instantly turned downwards. Who would've thought Saaya even went grocery shopping. It'd be more believable if she was sitting on a throne carried by servants who did all the shopping for her.

Ikuto pressed his hand to Amu's lower back, ushering her in the other direction. They were both more than willing to head over to the bakery, which was on the opposite end of the store. That's where they would've headed, too, if Saaya's voice didn't suddenly ring out.

"Look who it is." Apparently that was her way of greeting others. Saaya stood with her red hair perfectly curled and her hands on her hips.

Amu faked a smile as she turned around. "Hey, how's your summer been?"

"I still haven't forgotten our last volleyball game, Hinamori." Was all Saaya said in return.

Amu's eye twitched. Now, who could've predicted this? Of course the first thing Saaya would do was bring up the gym class volleyball game she lost to Amu's team. Apparently it was all Amu's fault - not that she minded taking the blame for the other team losing.

"Yeah…I guess-" The pinkette was cut off when Saaya spoke again, her gaze now on Ikuto.

"How are you, Tsukiyomi-san?" The redhead asked eagerly. Amu could practically see the stars in her eyes and the rainbows shooting out her ass. It made her want to gag.

"Fine." Ikuto replied easily. His tone wasn't rude - it never was. It just wasn't the most inviting tone he could've used. Not that Saaya even noticed.

"Are you busy the weekend before school starts?" She asked eagerly.

Amu watched the exchange in silent awkwardness. She let her gaze wander over to the tomatoes as Saaya told Ikuto all about this party she was throwing that weekend and how he was definitely invited.

Tomatoes. Those tomatoes looked good. Amu slowly started imagining the tomatoes morphing until they grew angry faces. They pulled out spears from the bottom of their crate and all toppled over the edge of the box that held them in place. They all flowed down the way to where the potatoes were also preparing for the war. Too caught up in her imagination, she didn't even notice Saaya attempt to insult her.

"You could bring someone, if you'd like, I guess." Saaya stated before glancing over at Amu. "If it's a girl, then it should at least be someone pretty, who doesn't just focus on excelling in sports and in the arts…aaaand she isn't even listening. Okay, cool. So, I'll see you there?" She grinned up at Ikuto.

"Sure." Ah, a man of many words.

"Great!" Saaya chirped before bidding them (mostly Ikuto) farewell. Once she was out of sight, Ikuto nudged Amu to get her back to the real world.

Amu sent him a questioning look, temporarily forgetting why they were at the store in the first place. The potatoes were just starting to get the upper hand in their fight with the tomatoes and she was almost looking forward to creating how it ended. It was after Ikuto snatched the list away from her did she remember what they were there for.

"I-Ikuto! You said that I could be in charge of the list!" She whined as she stretched up onto her tippy toes to reach the small paper he was holding high above her head.

"What were you daydreaming about?" Ikuto asked sneakily. "I probably don't even want to know."

Amu's face glowed red as she quickly snatched the list out of his hand. For a brief moment, she exchanged looks with him, letting herself get lost in his deep blue orbs. They had to be the most captivating eyes she'd ever seen. They weren't just one shade of blue - they had multiple speckles of light indigo; deep sapphire, and just a hint of topaz.

Quickly averting her eyes as she cleared her throat, Amu wandered off in search of what was next on the list. She glanced back at Ikuto, then quickly looked away as she lifted a hand to press against her cheeks - which were now rosy again. Come to think of it, her heart rate had also increased.

Amu frowned. Weird.


	6. Bodies Hitting Windows

**_"I hate horror movies." - Melissa Auf Der Maur_  
><strong>

**Chapter 6**: **Bodies Hitting Windows**

_Her breathing came out in short huffs as she stumbled around the corner of one of the hospital's many hallways. She nearly tripped over herself. She sent a quick look backwards, fear clearly evident on her young features._

_She whirled back around and skidded to a stop. The window at the end of the white hallway rattled in the wind. But it wasn't the rattling that caught her attention, it was the black shape that was hitting the glass. Taking cautious steps closer to it, she expected to find it to be a large branch that had blown loose and was dangling off the tree._

_It was a body. A body hung from the roof of the hospital and was banging against the windowpane. His eyes were rolled back and white, blood gushing from the wound in his chest._

_She screamed and started to run back the way she came. But the killer she was trapped with grabbed onto her before she could escape_.

Amu sat folded up in a corner of the armchair she was sharing with Nadeshiko. Nibbling on her lower lip in worry, she let her gaze wander away from the TV screen as the female character screamed bloody murder while being, well…murdered bloodily.

Nadeshiko was staring wide-eyed at the movie, flinching every time the girl let out a scream. Nagihiko, who was sitting on the floor, was too busy braiding Rima's hair to be bothered by the horror film.

Lounging on an armchair across the room lay Ikuto with his legs draped over the armrest of the chair. His eyes were half closed with his hands folded over his chest, all-too calm about the whole thing.

Then there was Kukai and Utau, who sat cuddled together on the couch, quickly eating their popcorn with their eyes glued to the TV.

Amu frowned and stole another look at the screen before flinching and cowering behind the pillow she was squeezing to her chest. She hated horror movies. Absolutely loathed them. Despised. Almost more than she hated Ikuto when he chose to eat all her cookies (which he had done that morning, that gimped goat.) Glancing over at the thin, tall boy, she was at a complete loss when it came to thinking about how Ikuto remained as thin as he was and ate as much as he did. His metabolism must've been amazingly high.

Speak of the devil, Ikuto's mischievous gaze slithered over to the pinkette, who was still watching him. Before she had the chance to look away, he winked playfully at her before looking back at the screen, her glare going unnoticed.

He was able to get her all flustered for no reason and it was starting to get on her nerves. It was mainly because he had this constant sneaky look on his face that made her suspect that he knew something about her that she didn't want anyone to know. It made her skin crawl at all the possible things he could know.

Another scream erupted from the television, making Amu nearly jump out of her skin. Nadeshiko glanced over at her and giggled softly before giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

By the time the credits were rolling, Kukai was going on about how amazing the movie was and how they should watch the second one. Utau and Rima remained unfazed and agreed that it was too unrealistic and stupid to even be placed under the horror genre.

Amu remained silent as everyone shared their opinions. What she wanted to say was that from now on they should stick with watching cartoons, fairytales, and movies made for toddlers.

"Well, it's getting dark…" She began after taking a quick look at the window. She didn't want to look too long in fear of seeing a dead body dangling in front of it. "So, we should get going."

Ikuto looked up from his lounging spot on his chair and stood up, brushing off his jeans. He had managed to stay awake through three movies and was more than ready for bed.

By the time they had gotten out onto the sidewalk it had gotten even darker.

Amu was about ready to insist that they call her parents to come and pick them up, but she knew that would just raise questions and she wasn't ready to admit that the movies had left her terrified.

Ikuto walked silently beside her. Knowing him, his mind wouldn't even be on the movies, he'd be contemplating life decisions or thinking of something stupid, like how many shoes the average girl owns.

Deciding she needed a distraction from her dark surroundings, Amu spoke up. "How many pairs of shoes do you think the average girl has?"

He turned to give her a bored look as they crossed the street. "You have around twenty."

"We're not talking about me!" Amu huffed, actually quite embarrassed by the amount of shoes she owned. She really only wore three of the many pairs that lingered in the back of her closet.

"Of all the possible topics, you choose shoes." Ikuto commented.

"Well I didn't hear YOU come up with anything!"

"Wasn't aware I had to."

Amu growled in response, at a loss for words. He was a great arguer, she'd give him that. Not that she'd ever compliment him out loud. His ego was big enough already.

Amu frowned at this. Ikuto really didn't have much of an ego, now that she thought of it. Sure he had some pride and dignity, but he never flaunted his talents or abused his good looks by seducing girls. The only girl he had dated in the past was a pretty blond named Lulu. They had been together for only a few months before it ended. Amu had never asked him what happened, but it definitely was on her list of things to do.

At this realization of Ikuto lacking an ego, she gained just a little more respect for him as she looked at him fondly.

He soon caught her gaze and sent her a weirded out look. "You're planning on taking advantage of me, aren't you?"

"Wh-what? No!"

Ikuto slung an arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear. "Well hey there's a dark alleyway over there. No one would be able to see us."

"IKUTO!"

She knew he deserved to be scolded, but she had been so distracted that she had completely forgotten about the horror movies, therefore she decided against the scolding.

A vibrating in her pocket stopped their conversation and Ikuto retracted his arm from her shoulders as she answered her phone.

"Amu-chan?"

Amu nearly toppled over, which caused Ikuto's eyebrow to lift.

"T-Tadase-kun..." With all that was going on in her life, she nearly forgot about her lifelong crush. It was his fault for being on vacation though.

"How are you? How's your holiday going?" She asked quickly, unable to keep back a dorky smile that made Ikuto snort. 'shut up' Amu mouthed darkly.

"I'm good, thank you. We just got back from our vacation today, actually."

"Oh, really? I thought you weren't going to be back until sometime next week."

"Change of plans, I guess. My dad had to return to work." Tadase replied, his voice carrying its natural calmness Amu loved so much.

"Oooohh I see.." Amu nearly beat herself over the head with a fire hydrant. She never could come up with good responses when it came to Tadase.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out on Tuesday. Are you free?"

"Actually, she's very pricey on that day, try again later." Ikuto replied nonchalantly as they slowed to a stop in front of Amu's front door.

Amu glared at him, cursing his cat-like hearing. "Y-y-yeah, I believe so."

"Great. I'll call you Monday night so we can figure out a time and place."

Amu beamed. "Okay, I'll talk to you then! Bye." She was hesitant to hang up, wanting just to hear his voice some more.

"Did you hear that?" She asked excitedly after putting her phone away to search for her key.

"Yes."

"I'm hanging out with Tadaseeee on Tuesdaaayy!"

"Let's celebrate. Amu finally gets some."

"Some what? I'm not that kind of girl!" The pinkette exclaimed as her cheeks flushed red.

"That v-card of yours will be swiped sooner or later." Ikuto spoke calmly while his eyes danced playfully.

Rolling her eyes at the boy, Amu pushed open the door and sputtered out a reply.

"Why do we always end up talking about sex?"

The two froze when Tsumugu's voice came from down the hallway in a dangerously low voice, "Who's talking to my little sparrow about sex?"

The teens booked it up to Amu's room before Tsumugu could come after them.


	7. Be My Teddy Bear

**_"Bears sleep by day. At night they stay awake to chase away bad dreams." - Jesse O'Neil_**

**Chapter 7: Be My Teddy Bear**

"I think we were all pretty surprised at how well you took the news of Ikuto staying with me." Amu noted cautiously.

Utau looked up from the rack of jackets she was scanning through. She arched an eyebrow before continuing her purge through the store. "Why is that?"

"You tend to overreact." Rima stated bluntly, finally deciding to wander back over to them. She had just come from next door after she finished persuading the sales lady to sell her a teapot on display. Apparently they weren't supposed to sell the display items. But, being Rima, she got her way in the end.

Amu wasn't even sure why she agreed to go shopping with the two of them. Not that there was anything wrong with their company, she just wasn't a fan of shopping. By the end of the day all she got out of it was a few clothing articles, perhaps, but also sore feet and fingers that felt like they would fall off because of the weight of Rima's bags- which she was always forced into carrying.

Then again, she had to admit that it was about time she got out of the house. It felt like she had been cooped up inside for a week straight without even opening up a window.

The taller blond didn't look impressed. "Well, of course it came as a shock when I come back from my tour and see that my brother is no longer living with us," she commented with an overprotective edge to her voice as she shot Amu a look, "but I know it's best for him to take some time away from Kazuomi. This is good for the both of them. As long as it's not permanent."

Trying not to laugh, Amu ended up snorting. "Have no fear, that's not going to happen."

The three girls meandered their way out of the store and headed in the direction of the food court, as Utau claimed that if she didn't eat something soon, she'd drop dead and would have to get her corpse dragged straight to the town graveyard.

Rima and Amu ended up buying a plate of stir fry to share while Utau ordered two large bowls of ramen.

"Where is Ikuto, anyway?" Rima asked after taking a sip of water to wash down the remaining taste of stir fry.

"Babysitting Ami." Amu tried to hide the pure evil glint in her eyes but failed miserably as her two blond friends looked on, unimpressed. "Oh, I promised him I'd get him an ice cream to repay him. Hang on a second."

After Amu had hurried away in search of the ice cream stand, Rima raised an eyebrow as she pushed around the small bit of leftovers with a fork. "They're like a married couple."

Slowly looking back down to her second bowl of ramen, Utau hummed hesitantly in response. She liked Amu, believe it or not. At first she didn't at all, but then again, that was back when she was even more protective of Ikuto than she was now. He deserved the best. She nearly tore their house apart brick by brick with her teeth when he had started going out with Lulu - and she liked her teeth, so that was saying something. Lulu simply wasn't right for him.

Shifting her gaze slowly over to Amu, Utau sipped carefully at her drink while watching the pinkette order a double chocolate ice cream. Amu, dare she admit, was really the only girl she could see her brother ending up with. They were good together. Already they bickered like an old married couple, but it was never out of hatred, it was full of good humour. Amu understood him. Of course she could never understand him as much as Utau did, the blond proudly noted, but Ikuto trusted Amu with nearly everything, and that's what mattered most.

Feeling defeated, Utau sighed and stared down at her ramen bowl. She wouldn't go easy on Amu if the pink-haired girl decided to give in to Ikuto's charm. Utau would go as far as stalking her if she had to in order to make sure she was the absolute perfect match for her brother. Only then would she fully give up her brother to someone else.

"Right." Rima began as Amu rejoined them. "Shall we go?"

Once they gathered up all their bags, they walked slowly towards one of the many exits of the mall, cringing at the thought of being exposed to the harsh sun in just a matter of moments.

Utau took out her phone to check the time as they stepped out into the heat of the day. "Seriously, I don't respond to his text within ten minutes and I'm dubbed an adulteress."

Glancing over at the blond, Amu smiled. She knew Utau pretended to be annoyed with Kukai, but deep down she was flattered that he cared so much about her.

"How is it with you and your boooyyfriend?" Amu asked teasingly.

"Fine." She wasn't about to squeal uncharacteristically at the top of her lungs and list off all the amazing things Kukai did as the most perfect boyfriend ever, unlike every other girl on the planet. "He wants me to go with him tonight to watch his brother's soccer game."

Grinning, Amu nudged her in the side. "Do it! And enjoy the loveliness of being in a relationship. I, on the other hand, must return home to present your brother with this ice cream before it melts."

They all said their goodbyes and Amu hurried off with Ikuto's bowl of ice cream in hand and one small bag dangling from around her wrist. She had ended up caving and bought herself a pair of pyjama shorts. One touch of the fabric and she found herself in heaven in the middle of the lingerie store. In her defence, she protested against entering such a shop, but was dragged inside against her will by Rima, who claimed she needed a new bra. Lies. Rima just wanted to make Amu feel uncomfortable.

Strutting happily into her air-conditioned house, Amu was almost tempted to sing out at the top of her lungs and dance around in her underwear. But then she noticed Ikuto in the living room and decided against it.

Once realizing he hadn't heard her come in, the pinkette peered around the wall to watch how he interacted with her little sister.

"But it's not the same." Ikuto was saying as he lay upside down on the couch with Ami sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him. "Baldness is the result of your hair being incapable of growing in that spot. Shaving won't make it come back thicker."

Ami took this into thought as she frowned and turned to stare at her rainbow-striped socks. Ikuto followed her gaze and also frowned.

"Aren't those Amu's?"

"Ssshhh! She doesn't have to know!" Ami whispered loudly with wide eyes.

"I think she'll notice sooner or later. Only she would think socks like that are attractive," Ikuto pointed out.

Amu rolled her eyes from her hiding spot behind the wall.

"Anyways, as we were saying," Ami said quickly, "if you shave your legs, the hair grows back darker, correct?"

"Do they really have logical proof for that?"

"I don't know! J-just be quiet! Sooo if you're going bald, just shave the rest of your head and you'll have thicker hair again!" Ami concluded happily.

Ikuto hummed, sitting up properly on the couch. "What do you think, Amu?"

Amu went rigid as her eyes widened. Of course he knew she was there. She didn't know how it could even escape her mind that he heard everything, no matter how quiet she was.

Laughing weakly, she poked her head around the wall and handed Ikuto his ice cream, which was half melted. "I think I'll agree with you on this one. And I'll need those socks back, Ami." Her stare turned cold as she looked at her little sister.

Ami merely stuck her tongue out in response before leaving the room.

Sighing, Amu found herself standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room with Ikuto silently eating his ice cream while watching her. Remembering what had just been said, she snapped her gaze over to the boy and squinted her eyes at him.

"Those socks aren't that bad!"

* * *

><p>She really should have known better than to participate in the horror movie marathon the other night. She was fully aware of the effect those films had on her and how they always came back to bite her in the rear end when night came around.<p>

Especially if it was an unnaturally windy night like tonight.

Amu tightened the blankets around her as she squeezed her eyes shut. Trying to stay calm, she attempted to distract her wandering imagination by thinking of things like butterflies and rainbows.

Another gust of wind made her balcony door rattle. She squeaked and sunk deeper into her pillows. But when she closed her eyes, she was surrounded by darkness, and everyone knew darkness triggered imaginations to wander even more.

She could almost feel a presence outside her balcony door. It wasn't wind hitting the glass, it was a body. Standing just beside that body was the killer, who could see past her curtains and watch her at this very instant. He reached out a hand and started to slide open the door.

Amu forced her eyes open and gasped out for air as she scrambled to turn on her bedside lamp. Whirling around to look at the curtain blocking her balcony door, she didn't find a shadow on the other side, nor a person entering her room.

In her delusional state, she shivered despite the heat of the room and sobbed into her hand. It had been nearly two hours since she first climbed into bed. She was far past the state of being exhausted and desperately needed sleep. This couldn't be healthy. But she knew that if she closed her eyes again, she'd just be greeted by a murderer standing in her bedroom.

Even just that thought made fresh tears come to her eyes as she cried softly into her blankets.

Deciding she was strong enough to at least lie down with the light on, Amu grabbed a nearby teddy bear and hugged it tightly as she rolled onto her side and let her overtired eyes droop shut.

But even that didn't work. Before she could stop herself, she started imagining a man standing at the side of her bed just waiting for her to open her eyes and see him before he killed her.

Her wet eyes snapped open and she turned quickly in her bed to make sure there was no killer around.

When she was little, whenever she got scared she'd always climb into bed with her parents. Her pride wouldn't allow it to happen at this age, though. She was sixteen years old for crying out loud. She could handle a stupid little horror movie. It didn't have to get on her nerves this much.

She flipped in her sheets once again to take a look at the clock. Once she saw the time, she wished she hadn't looked. It was almost four in the morning. It was about time she got to sleep.

Emerging from her warm bubble of blankets, Amu shivered as she padded across the hall and hesitated with her hand on the doorknob to her parent's room. Biting down on her lip, she glanced over at the door just beside her. Ikuto's room. He wouldn't make it awkward, would he?

Usually when it came to serious things, Ikuto reacted pretty well and didn't immediately make jokes to make her feel better, but instead listened to what she had to say before choosing the best form of consolation.

She released the doorknob to her parent's room and turned the one beside it, slowly stepping into the darkness of Ikuto's bedroom.

It was pitch black without so much as a little trickle of moonlight illuminating her path.

She stood still for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness as she quietly closed the door behind her. Was this crossing some sort of line? What if he got mad at her for interrupting his sleep and from this point on they wouldn't be able to look each other in the eye?

All these irrational fears started building up as she let her eyes adjust. When she saw his sleeping form, she was instantly reassured. This was Ikuto. As much as he loved sleep, he wouldn't mind if she needed a friend.

He lay on his side facing away from her with his arms over to one side. His shirt was pulled tight against his lean shoulders which moved up and down slowly with his even breathing.

Tip-toeing across the cold hardwood, Amu nudged Ikuto's back and whispered his name. He didn't even shift.

Amu frowned and kneeled against the bed, reaching over to pull on his earlobe. If he had to be difficult then so did she.

He squirmed and tried to pry open his eyes. He failed on the first attempt but succeeded on the second. Rolling onto his back, he propped himself up on his elbows.

"Amu?"

His voice was deeper than usual, laced with sleep, and he frowned when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"C-can I stay in here for a bit? I-I promise I won't keep you from sleeping, I just n-need to…" She had trouble finishing her sentence when another rush of wind sent the window in a trembling frenzy.

This made her go silent as she tried to recompose herself before speaking again.

Ikuto watched her carefully before glancing over to the window. In his sleepy state, it took a moment, but he recalled the horror movie and looked back at her before reaching out his hand.

"Come here."

Instantly Amu peeled back the blankets and crawled in beside Ikuto. He turned around so he was facing her and waited for her to get comfortable before he closed his eyes again.

She was beginning to think he fell asleep and could feel her fear returning when he spoke again, quietly.

"I lost my teddy bear…can I sleep with you?"

Amu raised an eyebrow before sniggering. "Cheesy."

Ikuto cracked open one eye and smirked, "I know."

Smiling, Amu buried her face into her pillow and inhaled the soothing scent of Ikuto's soap mixed with laundry detergent. "For the record, I wasn't scared or anything. I just couldn't sleep with the sound of the wind so I figured I'd sleep in here because your unnaturally loud snoring would be able to mask any other noises."

Now it was Ikuto's turn to snigger. "Oh, of course. You're not scared of anything."

Removing her face from the pillow, Amu smiled softly and tried to keep the tears from flowing. "Of course not." She whispered.

Ikuto must've been able to hear the sadness in her voice. He shimmied closer to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to tightly cling onto her. "Poor baby, it's gonna be okay." He sounded like he was reassuring a two year old, which made Amu glare at him.

"Shut up, you pervert. And get off, this is awkward!" Her voice was strained as she attempted to pry his arms off from around her.

He buried his face in her hair and murmured, "It's only awkward if you make it awkward."

He was too stubborn for his own good. Only he would feel completely comfortable clutching another person as they shared a bed. Whereas she, on the other hand, didn't feel comfortable at all in such a situation. It was bearable, she had to admit, but she could practically hear her dad's frantic voice screaming in the back of her head to get that scary teenage boy off of her.

"Then I guess I've decided to make it awkward."

Chuckling, Ikuto released her from his hold and returned to his side of the bed, though now he lay closer than he was before. Amu lay so she was facing towards him, relaxing in the comforting body heat she felt radiating off of him. She found herself smiling again as she looked at his serene face. He wasn't sleeping yet, but his eyes were closed and made him look more relaxed than she'd ever seen him. It was refreshing to see him in such a vulnerable state.

Frowning, Amu suddenly wondered if Lulu ever had the opportunity to see him like this. She felt a surge of jealousy at this thought, which made all feelings of comfort slide away.

"What's wrong?" Ikuto asked quietly. His eyes were still closed, which made Amu blush for a reason she didn't know. Perhaps it was because he was able to understood what her silence meant.

"Why did…" She nibbled down on her tongue as she thought of how to properly phrase it. "Why did you and Lulu break up?"

He must've not been expecting this 'cause his deep blue eyes slowly opened again. His eyebrows slanted downwards. "What?"

This caused her to blush even deeper. "I realized I've never really asked you about it and it's just been on my mind lately - not that I'm thinking about you and your past relationships, it's just sort of come up somehow and I was just kind of wondering why you two broke up." She wanted to jump out a window or at least die of embarrassment. She was rambling and sounding like an idiot.

Ikuto's expression softened and he shifted, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself. "…'Cause you're the one I love." He said simply after he got comfortable again.

Despite her rapidly beating heart and the blush on her cheeks that said so otherwise, Amu wasn't impressed. Leave it to Ikuto to turn a serious conversation into a complete joke.

"Ikuto!" Amu scoffed, "I was being serious." She pouted as Ikuto patted her head and smirked, but didn't say anything in response. Fair enough, she decided. He wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

Realizing the wind was no longer bothering her, Amu started to push away the blankets, intending on returning to her room, only to have Ikuto wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer, pressing her back against his chest.

Amu groaned and sent him a look over her shoulder.

His voice came out as a quiet murmur as he clung onto her again. "Be my teddy bear."

If she hadn't been blushing earlier, she certainly was now. Not to mention it felt like she was about to have a heart attack. She swore her heart would burst through her ribcage at any moment now.

"If I must." She sighed in response.

Ikuto chuckled, knowing she was much more comfortable having him sleep next to her rather than sleeping alone.

"Get your hand off my butt, you pervert." She muttered sleepily.

"But your shorts feel like heaven."

"I don't care."

"Just sleep, bear."

"I will, pervert."


	8. Tadase's NotSo Grand Return

_**"She laughs at my dreams but I dream about her laughter. Strange as it seems, she's the one I'm after." - The Click Five**_

**Chapter 8: Tadase's Not-So Grand Return**

While in the middle of tugging on her jeans, Amu hobbled out of her room and into Ikuto's. There was no way she was going to let him sleep for much longer. He had woken her up to go grocery shopping so she clearly had earned the right to disturb one of his snooze-fests.

Though she had to admit, he looked completely adorable when he was in dreamland, completely oblivious to the outside world.

Half of his face was hidden in his pillow, his deep breathing the only noise coming from him. He was a good sleeper, she admitted, seeing as how he didn't snore; roll around; grind his teeth, or talk. The only downside to sharing a bed with him was that he tended to hog the blankets. Quite religiously, too. If Amu so much as tugged on the smidgen of the blanket she was left with, he'd sense it and wrap himself even further up in the quilt. She nearly froze last night, but after giving him a good nudge in the side, he released the covers from his grasp and let her slide under the blanket next to him.

It didn't take much to wake him on this fine, sunny morning. But when his eyes opened, Amu was greeted with a glare.

"What?"

His voice was heavy with exhaustion. For a brief second, Amu contemplated letting him continue sleeping. Then the stubborn side of her kicked in and she crossed her arms and marched over to the window. "Time to get up! You have to help me bake cookies."

Before he could utter a reply, she yanked open the curtains. Bright sun rays blasted into the room, nearly blinding Ikuto. He quickly rolled onto his stomach and turned his head the opposite way, throwing a pillow over his eyes.

"No."

A vein nearly burst in her forehead as Amu glared at the boy. "Ikuto!"

"I need my beauty sleep." Came his muffled reply.

Amu folded her arms and quickly looked away, pursing her lips together as a light blush coloured her cheeks. "You're beautiful enough." As soon as she said the words, she wanted to smack herself.

Ikuto slowly emerged from his blankets with a lazy smirk on his face, his naturally untidy hair even messier than usual. "Am I, now?"

"No, I just said that to get your attention," Amu deadpanned, expertly disguising her blush, "now, let's go, before I tell my dad that you tried to grope me."

She marched out the door, practically hearing the pout in Ikuto's voice when he murmured, "How cruel."

Trying to hide her smile, Amu bit the inside of her mouth as she hopped down the stairs. She was going to see Tadase today and he had said that they were going to have a picnic. She could hardly contain her excitement as she rummaged through the cupboards in search of the ingredients for cookies.

Normally she'd just make the cookies on her own, but Ikuto was famous for his expertly-made desserts, plus he owed her for eating all the ones she made just a few days earlier.

"Good morning, Amu-chan." Midori greeted as she walked by with a basket of laundry. "What are you up to?"

"Cookies." Amu replied happily as she skipped to the other side of the kitchen to fetch the flour.

Midori hummed in response and set the basket down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. She began folding towels as she watched Amu with a small smile on her face. Seeing her eldest daughter bounce around the house happily wasn't uncommon, but it was still an enjoyable sight to see.

After Amu set up all the supplies, Ikuto finally decided to join her in the kitchen.

He yawned, alerting everyone that he had arrived.

Amu wasn't impressed as she shot him a look. "Took you long enough." She handed him an apron, which he took silently, still half-asleep as he tied it around his thin waist.

It was almost as if he was on auto-drive as he moseyed around the counter, dumping the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another.

"Oh, oh, can I pour in the flour?" Amu chirped happily as Ikuto turned the electric mixer on medium speed.

He peeked over at her warily with an arched eyebrow. Amu usually made a disaster while in the kitchen. This was a world-known fact. The outcome of the food was usually fine, as it was edible and not too burnt, but the process of making said food always went down in flames.

Her golden eyes were wide and innocent as she waited patiently for him to answer. Hesitantly, he handed her the bowl of flour and stepped back as she moved in front of him to dump it into the mixture as the beater was doing its job.

"Oh, wait, you should pour-" Ikuto stepped forward with his hand outreached, but didn't get his words out in time. She had poured in the flour too fast and the powdery substance puffed into the air around them, sprinkling white crumbles onto Amu's nose as she stared wide-eyed.

Ikuto covered his mouth with a hand as he started to laugh at her.

She glared angrily over her shoulder before she, too, started to giggle. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that she'd mess up something as simple as that. But, in her defence, how was she supposed to know she had to dump it in slowly?

Amu searched for a cloth to wipe her face, oblivious to Ikuto's watchful eye.

He smirked in secret as his eyes danced in amusement, watching the short girl continue to giggle quietly to herself as she wiped her small nose. He had always loved that nose. It was adorable and described her perfectly - small and seemingly innocent, but destructive when it needed to be. You'd never fully understand the comparison until you heard Amu sneeze. That nose was capable of creating sneezes that sounded like a dinosaur in the middle of an orgasm- not a pleasant thing to imagine, but it described her monstrous sneezes perfectly.

"Ah, well, there goes my dream of being a baker." Amu commented sarcastically.

Ikuto hummed, finally breaking out of his trance as he measured the correct amount of flour into a bowl and poured it into the mixture slowly so it didn't blow up in his face. "Put it on your bucket list instead. That way it's not just one thing you're striving for."

"I think you're the only one with a bucket list, old man." Amu uttered as she took the now empty bowl out of Ikuto's hand and placed it in the sink.

"You wound me, bear."

"Stop calling me that!"

"You're just jealous." Ikuto stated dramatically as Amu placed the cookie dough on a pan and slid it into the oven. He then lowered his voice to a whisper so Midori couldn't hear him. "But don't worry, you're on that list." He smirked at her flustered reaction, which she quickly covered up with a glare in his direction before she hit him over the head.

"What is one of your dreams- or bucket list items?" Amu asked curiously before she began to load the dishwasher.

Ikuto rubbed his finger against his mouth as he took the question into thought. He didn't actually have a bucket list, but there were a few things at the back of his mind that he would like to do at some point in his life.

"Go to Ireland to visit a pub, just to eat a bowl of Lucky Charms." He finally stated.

Amu turned to look at him with an unreadable expression. She slowly raised an eyebrow before she started laughing.

Ikuto pouted. "You laugh at my dreams."

"I'm sorry!" Amu gasped out, but this made her laugh harder. "It's really not that funny, I'm just super overtired."

"Hmmm…busy night?"

"Sh-shut up, pervert! I just couldn't sleep 'cause I was freezing cold without any blankets!"

Midori watched their exchanges in silence with a small smile on her face, not having a clue what they were even arguing about, but not really minding either. After setting a pile of clean towels on the kitchen counter, she disappeared back into the laundry room, leaving the dynamic duo behind her.

Meanwhile, Ami sauntered down the stairs with her blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders, her hair sticking up in random places and her eyelids heavy. "Why are you up so early?" She croaked once spotting the teenagers in the kitchen.

"We're baking." Amu responded while gesturing to the oven.

"You're stupid, that's what you are." The younger Hinamori uttered before disappearing into the living room.

Amu held back the urge to fire off another insult. But she understood that Ami never was a morning person - nor an afternoon person, either. Even though it was nearly noon, she usually stayed asleep for a good two hours longer, which made school days a living hell trying to get her out of bed. And they said teenagers were bad when it came to mornings. Clearly, the people that said this had never encountered a creature named Ami Hinamori.

"Mmm such a bundle of joy." Ikuto commented with ease. "Just like you."

Amu clenched her fist threateningly at him and scowled while he just smiled innocently.

Once the cookies were finally ready, Amu was in a hasty scramble trying to pack them away so she wouldn't be late for meeting with Tadase.

Tugging on her shoes, Amu hopped over to the kitchen counter and grabbed the container of cookies. "Thank you for helping, Ikuto!" She yelled out as she scrambled to the door.

Ikuto removed his apron and glanced at the medicine cupboard at the feeling of his current headache getting worse. "Have fun, kid."

Standing there looking at him, for a moment Amu wanted to just stay in with Ikuto and laze around all day like they usually did. But then she remembered Tadase - the most perfect boy ever - was waiting for her.

"I'll see you later!" She called out before throwing open the door.

Thankfully, the park she was meeting Tadase at wasn't too far away, so it didn't take long to get there - mind you, she was also over-excited, so that helped her get there even faster than usual.

When she arrived - slightly out of breath, but not any less excited - he was already there, sitting at one of the benches with a basket beside him.

Amu took a moment to admire him from afar before making her presence known.

His golden hair practically twinkled in the sunlight and his soft facial features were relaxed as he bathed in the sunlight. He looked like something straight out of a fairytale picture book.

It had been too long, Amu realized as she smiled at the sight. She hadn't realized how much she missed him until now.

"Tadase-kun…" She greeted bashfully with a soft blush gracing her features. She walked over to him as he stood up, smiling instantly once seeing her.

"You look great, Amu-chan." Tadase commented.

He made her want to melt into a puddle, but she tried not to show it as she glanced down at her shoes. "Th-thank you."

Tadase smiled again at her embarrassment and picked up the basket of food he had brought along. "How has your summer been so far?" He asked politely as they started to walk further into the park.

Amu scratched the back of her neck as she laughed awkwardly. She wondered whether or not now would be the best time to tell him that Ikuto had started living with her. It's not like it really mattered all that much, though. "It's been good." She finally said, "Haven't done much, really."

"Hmm, well sometimes that's a lot more enjoyable than a summer that's overly-packed with one thing after another." He remarked as he removed a thin blanket from his basket.

"Ain't that the truth." Amu agreed tiredly. She still couldn't stand to think of last summer's road trip. That was hardly considered a vacation. There was no relaxing at all, though her father thought differently and even tried to convince the family to go on another vacation just like it for Christmas. The idea was instantly shot down.

She glanced at their surroundings and walked over to an area laced with plush grass. "Will here work?"

Tadase joined up with her and nodded in agreement. "Great spot! I hope Nagihiko and Nadeshiko will be able to find us."

Amu stopped in her spot and slowly looked over at Tadase. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? It was their idea to get together and have a picnic. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take all the credit for it. The picnic was really all their doing." The blond admitted sheepishly, clearly afraid that he had somehow taken credit for someone else's work.

Amu, on the other hand, didn't really see how it would come across as offensive just because he didn't come up with the whole 'picnic' idea. What she did find slightly offensive - well, offensive wasn't the right word - was the fact that it wasn't going to be just the two of them, like she thought.

She resisted the urge to sigh as Nagihiko and Nadeshiko came into view. It's not that she didn't love them, because she did. She had just gotten her hopes up at the idea that this hangout meant as much to Tadase as it did to her.

Clearly, in his eyes, she was still just a friend.

This made Amu release the sigh she had been holding in. Maybe she should have stayed home with Ikuto after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hey hey! So this story I've decided will be a shorter one than usual. So about 15 or so chapters. And, just for fun, would you send me the name of an object as a prompt for the next chapter? I'll try to incorporate the object into it somehow, just to make things more interesting for me to write. (It could even be a whole sentence that I'll make a character say. Whatever floats your boat.)<strong>


	9. Glittery Penis

**Author's Note: **The sentences that are **bolded **are prompts that readers have sent in ^-^

**_"Couples in love tend to show more of themselves to each other than to any other person" - Nathaniel Branden._**

**Chapter 9: Glittery Penis**

Tadase was probably the last person she expected to be on the other line when she answered the phone. They hadn't spoken since their day at the park and she was itching to talk to him. So, needless to say, she was more than thrilled to hear his voice on this warm evening.

She had her sliding door open halfway to let in the cool night breeze while she lounged at her desk.

"Well, anyways, what are you up to?" Tadase asked, sounding momentarily distracted by something.

Amu glanced at the computer sitting in front of her and fiddled with the mouse a bit. "Just looking at the prices of animals. My sister randomly decided that she wanted a pet, so I said I'd help her choose one."

Tadase laughed lightly at this, though Amu really didn't see what was so amusing. "Does she usually just act on impulse?"

Amu smiled. "Basically, yeah."

"And would you say she gets that from you?"

The pinkette actually took this into thought as she leaned back in her seat and inhaled the fresh air that flowed past her. "Nah, I'd say she's a lot braver than me, to be honest. It's kind of annoying, since I'm the older one, therefore I should be the braver one."

"That's just society talking." Tadase commented lightly, "You don't have to live up to everyone's standards when being yourself is clearly more than enough."

Amu smiled at this and bit down on her lip as a blush swept across her cheeks. Even though Tadase was one to enjoy small talk and their conversations tended to be full of awkward moments, she still enjoyed their talks.

Tsumugu chose this moment to stick his head in the doorway to check to make sure she and Ikuto weren't getting up to any monkey business, though it was painfully obvious by the running shower water that Ikuto was in the bathroom.

After a thorough search around Amu's room, Tsumugu watched her suspiciously as he slowly backed out of the doorway, half expecting Ikuto to be hiding nude somewhere.

"So um.. The reason I called is because I wanted to apologize for our picnic the other day," He began hesitantly, "I originally intended to spend the day with just you, but at last minute I got talking with Nagihiko and it became a group thing."

That's the reason he called? It made Amu wiggle happily in her seat, not realizing Ikuto had walked into the room in the middle of drying his hair. He watched in amusement while she continued to dance happily.

Tadase went on before she could respond. "And I'd still like to hang out with you..by ourselves, if that's not too uncomfortable for you."

"N-no, not at all!" she replied eagerly.

It only took a moment for Ikuto to put the pieces together and come to the conclusion that she was talking to Tadase. He silently shifted his gaze to the sliding door. Continuing to dry his hair with a towel, he inhaled the fresh air streaming in through the doorway as thoughts ran through his head, none of which he was willing to voice out loud since he knew perfectly well how Amu would respond if he were to say just what he thought of Tadase.

Ikuto looked back at Amu and frowned slightly. Distracting himself from the phone call occurring just feet away from him, he tried to remember what it was he came in here for. Oh, right, it was Amu's turn to shower.

"Amu," He spoke finally.

The pinkette didn't hear him. This made his frown become more prominent before he tried again.

"Amu."

There was still no response. She was too busy giggling away with Tadase to notice anything else. She probably don't even realize that her dad had come and snooped around her room just minutes before.

Ikuto dropped the towel from his head and slung it around his neck as he got an idea. He left the room without another word and closed the door to his room behind him.

"How about next Tuesday? Are you free then?" Tadase asked.

_'Actually I'm quite pricey that day'_ Amu automatically thought in response. She glared in the direction of the house where Ikuto would be. He was rubbing off on her.

"Y-yeah, Tuesday sounds good-" her phone beeped once and she frowned. She had a call waiting. "Hey, Tadase-kun? Sorry, but I'm getting another call. Will I see you this Saturday at movie night?"

"Yeah, I should be there."

Amu beamed as she impatiently tapped her foot. "Great, then I'll see you then! Goodnight." She quickly answered the other line, hoping she hadn't missed the call.

"Bathroom's free." Came the silky smooth voice.

Amu whirled around to glare at her door, feeling more hatred burning in her chest than she ever had when it came to Ikuto. She slammed the phone down and threw open her door, pushing her way into Ikuto's room. "What is your problem?" She exclaimed with a quick flail of the arms.

"What did I do?" He asked with innocence that was so fake it might as well have been a model.

Amu's nostrils flared as she stomped further into the room.

Ikuto sat calmly on his bed. He was still straight-faced as he swung his legs over the bed to face her.

"You know what you did!" Amu scolded.

Ikuto just hummed. "Do I?"

"That phone call.." the pinkette said in a low voice.

"Ah, yes. I apologize for taking so long in the shower, but feel free to use the bathroom now."

"IKUTO! You know that you interrupted an important phone call!"

Ikuto remained unfazed as he watched her blow up and stomp all around his room as if she was wanting to break holes in the floor. It was nearly working, too.

"How was I supposed to know it was important?" He continued with the half-innocent, half-bored tone he had going on, which just added to Amu's anger.

She took a few deep, calming breaths to refrain from losing her head. Unfortunately, she had already lost it. Plus the facade Ikuto had on wasn't helping her cool off. She let out a noise of frustration before stomping back into her room. The door slammed furiously behind her.

Amu bit down on her lip angrily as she glared at the open window. Even she knew that she was overreacting. She really had no right to completely blow up like that. But now that she'd already made a fool of herself, she decided she'd might as well continue with it.

The door creaked open behind her and she was more than ready to start yelling again, but when she turned around, she found her dad walking in instead.

"I know he's in here. The door was closed. He must be here." he was chanting to himself as he slinkered throughout the room. Everyone was convinced he had officially gone crazy. He caught sight of the end of a sparkly baton that stuck out from under her bed and his eyes lit up as he grinned menacingly. "Ah-hah!" He grabbed the baton from under the bed, and once realizing what it was, frowned deeply.

"What, did you think that was me?" Ikuto's voice sounded from the doorway. He leaned against the doorframe. "Come on, **I really don't think I have that glittery of a penis**."

Tsumugu looked like he would snap something with his teeth. He left in a sulking shadow, still carrying the baton.

Amu sighed at her dad. He really had lost it.

She then seemed to remember Ikuto was there and turned to glare at him. "You! Get out."

"Amuuuu come on," he whined as she pushed against his back and forced him out into the hall before slamming the door.

There was silence between the two as they both leaned against different sides of the door. She could hear him sigh lightly, but he didn't move. He was probably well aware that Amu was waiting for him to speak.

Amu fiddled with her pajama bottoms. "...I-**I'll forgive you only if you buy me a bucket of gummy bears.**" she finally stuttered out stubbornly.

Ikuto shifted against the door.

"And **I would like to have some ****chocolate**," she quickly added in as she folded her arms.

The doorknob started to turn, but Amu didn't move. When the door opened just a crack, the pinkette glanced over and made eye-contact with Ikuto, who was still sitting on the ground as well, reaching up with his hand on the doorknob.

"Gummy bears? Really?" he arched an eyebrow at her.

"You're going to judge me?" Amu shot back in a huff.

"Yes." he replied easily.

Amu opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again as she tried to hold back a smile and retain her angered expression. Ikuto noticed this and smiled gently at her, pushing the door open a little more.

"Can you love me again?"

Amu tried to bite back a smile as she inched away from the door to let Ikuto open it fully as he rose to his feet. He outstretched his hand and helped her up.

"I guess I could," she grumbled with fake reluctance.

Ikuto smiled and pulled her closer. Amu wrapped her arms tightly around his torso as she buried her face into his chest. The scent of his body wash was stronger than usual as she inhaled the pleasant smell. It was a known fact that Amu couldn't stay mad at Ikuto for long and vice versa. They relied on each other too much.

"The bathroom's still available for you to shower," Ikuto reminded quietly as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

Amu sighed and pulled away. "Right-o. I should get on that then."

Truth be told, she didn't want to end their hug. It was far too comfortable.

Ikuto scanned through Amus bookshelf while she gathered together clothes and a towel. Finding everything she needed, she sent one final look in Ikuto's direction. He was lying on her bed, already flipping through a shoujo manga she was almost too embarrassed to admit she owned. Watching him now made her palms start to sweat as her heart seemed to start thumping louder.

In a hurry, she scrambled to the bathroom and locked the door behind her as she took deep breaths, breathing in Ikuto's body wash that still lingered in the air from his shower.

Amu swallowed thickly as she felt her flushed cheeks. She must've been coming down with something.

She scoffed at this. Who was she kidding? She was in terrible danger of liking Ikuto whether she wanted to admit it or not.

* * *

><p><strong>Gaah I'm SO disappointed with this chapter, but it's to establish Amu's realization that she could in fact like Ikuto. I STILL HATE IT THOUGH. I promise the next chapter should be a lot better (hopefully) and I will add in more of the prompts that have been supplied. Thank you to all who sent in prompts! I thoroughly enjoyed them ^-^ (I don't need any more)<strong>


	10. Wanna Cuddle?

_**"Of course I love you. I've always loved you. I love you more and more every day, if it's even possible to love someone that much." - Unknown**_

**Chapter 10: Wanna Cuddle?**

"Could you pass the peas, please?" Ikuto requested while sending Tsumugu a sneaky look.

There seemed to be a silent fight going on between them as they seemingly communicated with one another just using their eyes. Tsumugu begrudgingly passed Ikuto the bowl of peas.

Remaining eye contact with Tsumugu, Ikuto slowly dipped the spoon into the peas and dumped them onto his plate with one smooth motion. He calmly pushed the bowl of peas away from him and took a sip of water. They were still watching each other.

Amu sat in silence and watched their exchange. It had been going on throughout the entire dinner, though no one else seemed to notice but herself. Ami was too busy nagging Midori about buying new school clothes and wanting a pet; and Midori was too distracted by this debate to notice anything else. A naked homeless man could frolic into the house right now and no one would notice but her.

The pinkette looked on in silence while poking at the food on her plate. If the glaring kept up, Tsumugu would change his mind about allowing the movie night to be at their place tonight, and instead would send everyone straight to bed simply to show his power as man of the house. She hoped Ikuto would be the first to give up so Tsumugu would feel a slight ounce of pride with the small accomplishment.

"Why can't I get a guinea pig?" Ami whined. She flung her fork around to emphasize the words that carelessly spewed from her mouth along with the bits of food she had yet to swallow. "There's nothing wrong with that!"

Amu had tensed up at the thought of a guinea pig. The last time she was in contact with one was when she was visiting her cousins. This one's name was Hugo and he was the seed of Chucky. The creepy rodent had snuck under her blankets and crawled up to her pillow to join her. She had woken up with it right beside her and, needless to say, ever since she hasn't been able to put 'guinea pig' and 'cute' in the same sentence. Those savages needed to all die for giving her nightmares for a month straight.

"You know how Amu-chan feels about rodents." Midori spoke in a hushed tone so as not to hurt Amu's feelings. The pinkette wasn't impressed as she stared at her mom. It's not like she was sitting right beside her and was able to hear everything her mom said. Midori was treating the case like she was a mental case.

This seemed to pique Ikuto's interest and he finally looked away from Tsumugu. The man of the house cheered loudly and threw his arms in the air while shouting "I won! I won!"

Ikuto brushed the cheering aside as he concentrated on Amu. "So you really are scared of rodents?"

Amu's eyes widened as she flushed a deep shade of red, "N-n-n-n-no!"

"That was a crap load of stutters, Amu," uttered Ami.

"It was quite impressive," Ikuto agreed.

Letting out a noise of frustration, Amu stood up from the table after finishing the water in her glass. "Thank you for dinner, mama. I should get the living room ready before everyone gets here." It was a lame excuse, but she didn't feel like getting embarrassed even more.

Midori nodded just as Ami resumed their debate. "Oh, Amu-chan, can you do the dishes? I'll handle the living room."

Ikuto quickly stood up and gathered together his plate and utensils, eagerly joining Amu in the kitchen after thanking Midori for the meal.

She was too busy filling up the sink to notice him enter the kitchen after her. The soap was added in and the dishes on the counter were tossed into the mix. Plunging her hands into the hot water, Amu blew a stray hair out of her eyes and began scrubbing a plate.

"So, rodents..?"

Amu whirled around and glared at him. "Never happened! You didn't hear anything!"

Ikuto smirked and patted her head before grabbing a towel out of the drawer.

They embarked on the washing of dishes in silence.

He was finding out too much about her, Amu noted as she scrubbed at a fork. No one knew of her rodent problem. It was bad enough that Ikuto had seen her in her weak state when she had been too scared to sleep just because of a few horror movies. And now this. She wanted to groan and scream and peel the skin of her face off with her fingernails in agitation. Maybe she'd rip her hair out as well. It all sounded great at the moment.

"I don't like balloons." Ikuto finally said.

"Huh?"

She had been so busy concentrating on how effective a potato peeler to the skin would be and had completely forgotten that Ikuto was right beside her.

"Balloons," he repeated teasingly, "you know, the things filled with air that are usually present at parties."

Amu nearly had to pick her jaw up off the floor. It didn't even faze her that she had been indirectly insulted. Of all the possible things he could be scared of, it had to be balloons?

"Balloons!" She snorted in a very un-ladylike manner before covering her mouth with a soapy hand to muffle her laughter. It had never even crossed her mind before. Not many people nowadays had birthday parties and when they did, balloons were hardly ever present, so she had never even suspected this.

"Don't tell anyone." He added in with a fake tone of urgency, though both of them knew he couldn't care less if everyone knew about it. He wasn't one to get ashamed or embarrassed easily.

"Oh, I definitely will tell the whole world of your irrational fear of balloons." The pinkette smiled slyly before handing him a spoon to dry.

Though they seemingly dropped the subject, Amu couldn't stop imagining Ikuto freaking out over something as small as a harmless balloon. It was nagging at her for quite some time so she had to bring it up just once more.

"What on earth is so scary about them?"

Ikuto sent her a look that clearly said 'you-wouldn't-understand-anything-at-so-young-of-an-age.' "Them popping is the worst thing I've ever witnessed."

A slow smile crept onto Amu's face as she nodded, finally accepting that as an answer. She resumed scrubbing a stubborn stain off a bowl while Ikuto started piling the dishes into their places in the cupboards.

In the middle of scrubbing, her bangs had fallen out of her pony tail and into her face. Attempting to fling off the soap from her hands, Amu stopped and frowned. There was no way she'd be able to push her hair out of her eyes without getting soap all over her.

Ikuto, who was leaning against the counter beside her, seemed to notice this and reached over. His fingers gently pushed through her bangs, brushing them to the side.

The slight touch against her forehead made Amu's eyes flutter closed as she tried to even out her breathing. Slowly opening her eyes, she met his blue orbs and had trouble catching her breath. His eyes really were fascinating. They always had been, but now they seemed even more so.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Midori's voice came first.

"Amu-chan! Utau-chan and Kukai-kun are here!" She called from the entryway.

Amu quickly pulled her attention to the doorway, where Utau was removing her jacket upon Midori's request.

Making herself presentable, Amu dried her hands on a nearby towel and grinned widely as she hurried over to greet her two friends, all the while trying to tame her blush.

* * *

><p>"I didn't see the point of that movie." Utau stated bluntly. She sat with Kukai on one of the couches, examining her freshly painted nails which shimmered in the light of the lamp beside her.<p>

"That's because you were too busy doing your nails." Rima retorted easily. She tended to get over-protective when it came to her favourite comedies. She pulled a nearby blanket overtop of her legs after stretching them out in front of her. Her back rested against Nagihiko's legs which were pulled to his chest as he brushed her hair. Without even realizing it they were slowly turning into a couple. Not that Rima would ever admit it.

"Well, you have to admit, those are some pretty fine nails she's got there." Kukai commented. Utau resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her boyfriend, but gave him a quick kiss on the cheek so he wouldn't feel discouraged by failing at his attempt to defend her.

Amu watched the exchange with a small smile of approval. It seemed everyone here was a couple. Utau and Kukai were together, then there was Rima and Nagihiko. Sure, the latter wasn't exactly together yet, but they might as well have been.

Then there was Amu left over as well as Nadeshiko, Tadase, and Ikuto, who was falling asleep at the other end of the couch she was sitting on.

Tadase sat in the armchair to her right, leaning more towards her than the other way. He was so cute. Especially tonight with his intelligent-looking attire. "Those are indeed some very nice nails," he agreed while nodding, "though I did think the movie was good." Leave it up to him to be the peace keeper.

Yawning, Amu lifted her legs up and curled them closer to her so she didn't invade on Ikuto's personal space. They were stuck on the loveseat, which was a lot smaller than the couch Kukai and Utau shared.

Feeling daring enough to test the waters, Amu inched her legs closer to Ikuto, placing on ankle on his leg. He sat in silence with his eyes half-open, elbow resting on the armrest with his chin in his palm. He glanced down at the contact with his thigh and casually lifted both her legs, draping them across his thighs before he resumed his previous half-asleep position.

Enjoying the giddy feeling of warmth that blossomed in her chest, Amu bit down on her lip as she turned onto her side, now much more comfortable than she had been before when she was trying to stay on her side of the couch.

"Perverted kid." She heard Ikuto whisper just for her to hear.

Amu refused to make eye contact with him. "Am not! This is just more comfortable than how I was sitting before." She said in her defence, though her blush betrayed her.

Ikuto didn't seem convinced as he closed his eyes once again, this time with a small smirk on his defined facial features. "Sure thing."

The pinkette pursed her lips together to keep from smiling as she looked away, catching Tadase's eye.

"Are you falling asleep already?" He asked with a smile, leaning closer to her.

Amu smiled sheepishly. "I'm feeling tired but I want to watch the other movie. I can do it!"

"I believe in you!" Tadase joined in dramatically, getting a few looks from the other guests. Amu just laughed along with the blond and ignored the others.

"Alright, shall we watch one more before calling it a night?" Nagihiko asked as he started to stand up. Rima grabbed onto his wrist and held him in place, giving him one pleading look with her puppy dog eyes. He got the idea and sat back down to resume doing her hair.

"Sounds good to me." Nadeshiko agreed, substituting for her twin brother to put the next movie into the movie player.

Everyone quickly refilled their cups and bowls before getting comfortable once again, though Amu stayed where she was with Ikuto, who was shifting like he was going to get up.

"I'm going to sleep. You guys have fun." He announced with a sigh as he removed Amu's legs from off of his own.

Amu's heart sunk in disappointment as she watched him leave the room with everyone saying their goodnights. Her legs felt unnaturally cold now without his warmth. She tried not to frown too noticeably as she readjusted herself to get used to the absence of her cuddle buddy.

Recognizing Amu's loneliness, Tadase was the first to sub in for Ikuto, taking a seat beside Amu. He sat a lot closer than Ikuto had, but no one else seemed to notice.

He patted his legs with a welcoming smile before letting her legs rest over top of his like she had done with Ikuto.

Amu smiled uncomfortably. This was just weird. She couldn't place it, but she felt like she was betraying Ikuto. Or that she had been using him earlier and went through replacement guys when one of them was unavailable. Whatever the sensation was, it felt bitter in the pit of her stomach and she only knew two things for sure: she didn't like the unpleasant feeling, and she wanted her cuddle buddy to come back.


	11. Risky Business

**Author's Note: GAAAHHHHARRGHH guys it's terrible. I've morphed into some self-proclaimed 'Ikuto genius.' (Not to sound egocentric) But for example, I started reading a new fic. In the first chapter, Ikuto's new to school and he introduces himself to Amu, who happens to be in his class - AND THIS IS THE PART WHERE I INSTANTLY STOP READING. Why? Because I'm convinced that Ikuto would not introduce himself. Amu would have to make an effort to get anything out of him. Therefore, I have found no new stories that meet my standards. Case in point: I have issues. And I'm suffering because of it. Anyhow, on with the story.**

**_"'Cause I need a man and my heart is set on you." - Grease_**

**Chapter 11: Risky Business**

"I'm going to kill those DAMN MOSQUITOES!" Amu cried out after practically tearing off a layer of her skin with her nails. No matter how much she scratched, the bites just got itchier and more annoying. She was certain that if she kept up this huff she was in, Nagihiko wouldn't want to hang out with her anymore.

He looked at her warily from his seat across from her before he broke out into an understanding smile. Picking through the bowl of fruit in front of him, he reached out and offered her a strawberry, which she gladly accepted.

"Sorry for being a little…off lately." The pinkette murmured around the strawberry in between her teeth.

Nagihiko looked over her carefully. There wasn't anything physically different about her. Her hair was still very pink and eyes still very golden, but...there was something about her presence that had changed.

"Is…something wrong?" He finally asked after they both took a few more pieces of fruit. He had noticed this change the moment he stepped through the front door. She had invited him over to help her paint Tsumugu's office. Apparently Ami was too stupid to help (Amu's words, not his) and Ikuto wasn't feeling well so he had been sleeping all day and wasn't very accommodating either.

Amu exhaled sharply as she stared down at the kitchen table. She herself didn't even know what was going on with her. There was some sort of inner battle occurring, yet she couldn't figure out what the reason for that battle even was.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, letting out a growl of frustration. "I don't know, Nagi. I'm having an internal battle and I want to cry and disappear and-" She pursed her lips together and dropped her forehead to the table, "I have no idea what's going on with me."

Frowning at his friend, Nagihiko moved closer to her and folded his hands on the tabletop. "Can you …try to explain exactly what heartstring this battle is tugging at?"

Taking a moment to compose herself, Amu finally lifted her head and stared straight ahead to try to sort everything out. It had just started a couple days ago. There was a bitter feeling in the pit of her stomach each time she thought of Tadase. It made her feel like a horrible person, which caused some sort of a left-brain-versus-right-brain kind of thing. But the reasoning behind that, she still couldn't figure out. All she was certain of was that she had a feeling of bitterness.

She attempted to explain this to Nagi, who nodded along slowly. He always had been amazing when it came to listening to her problems.

"And this started just recently?" He clarified. Amu nodded sullenly.

"Maybe I've come down with a deadly disease. One that starts in the pit of your stomach and slowly eats away at your insides so that soon enough you'll be regurgitating every meal you've ever eaten." Amu declared, expressionless.

Nagihiko placed a hand on Amu's shoulder as she dropped her head to the table again. "Amu-chan…maybe you need to think about…" He drifted off as Ikuto stumbled his way into the kitchen. His hair seemed to be in a permanent state of bed head. Especially today, as it appeared like he hadn't seen daylight in a couple hundred years.

It seemed to take all of Ikuto's strength to turn on the faucet and fill up the glass he had carried down with him. Once the glass was topped off, he turned to meander his way back up the stairs, nodding once at Amu and Nagihiko before he left.

Amu, who had removed her head from off the table, watched him while worrying her lip. It didn't matter what kind of temperature the summer presented itself with, Ikuto always, every single year, caught a summer fever. Amu should have been used to it by now, but she had never actually seen him at his worst when he was sick. She had always met up with him when he was well enough to step outside. This, on the other hand, made her feel sick to her stomach with worry.

Nagihiko noticed her anxious gaze and his eyes softened as he patted her shoulder and retracted his hand. "You should go visit with him." He suggested.

Remembering she had company, Amu's eyes widened as she quickly turned back to look at Nagihiko. "W-what? No, I'm still visiting with you!"

The purple-head stood up after taking a look at the wall clock. "It's about time I left, anyway."

Amu also glanced at the clock. "Really?"

"Well…no. But I'll leave now so I can get a head start on panicking about mine and Rima's date-ish thing later on today." He admitted.

Eyes widening, Amu quickly stood up. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot! That was going to be today? Where? Does this mean that you two are together?"

"Caaaalllm down, Amu-chan." Nagihiko laughed as he walked over to the front door to search for his shoes. "I managed to convince her to go on one date and if she didn't like it, I'd forever leave her alone. So, no, we're not together…yet. I'm hoping this date-thing will go well and in a few days time, I can say that yes, we are together. Until then…" He exhaled and shrugged, "I can just hope my charm is enough."

Sending him a reassuring smile, Amu pulled him in for a hug. "Oh, it's more than enough, Nagi." Once they parted, she gave him another grin, followed by a thumbs up. "I have complete faith in you! You two are perfect together and this date will make Rima see that!"

Nagihiko chuckled softly as he opened the door and stepped out into the mid-afternoon sunshine. "Thanks, Amu-chan. And I had fun today, thanks for having me over." There was still a swipe of beige paint visible on the back of his hand from his work earlier that day.

"Thank you for being a lifesaver." Amu said in return. She gave him one last hug before he was on his way, a small nervous twitch in his hands.

The pinkette closed the door and sighed dreamily. She couldn't wait to get the phone call later that night from Rima, who would tell her all about the date and how she realized her love for Nagihiko and how they were going to get married and live happily ever after. Okay, so it was a bit far-fetched, but a girl could dream.

Speaking of dreaming… Amu glanced up the stairs. Would Ikuto be sleeping right now? She didn't want to bother him if he actually managed to fall asleep. These past few days he had hardly gotten any rest. The fever symptoms had started on Saturday's movie night when he went to sleep early. Since then his energy level had diminished drastically.

Padding her way into the kitchen, Amu filled up a fresh glass with water and started up the staircase. She grew more hesitant with each step. She didn't want to annoy him by visiting him, but she also didn't like the idea of him suffering by himself.

Meanwhile…

Ikuto's breaths came out laboured as his eyelids pressed shut, tightening his jaw while he held his breath and gripped the thin sheet beneath him. The slightest movement- even if he so much as breathed - would cause his body to ache and his stomach to bubble with acidic bile. Slowly exhaling, he winced when the churning in his stomach started up again. He never got sick. And when he did - which was never - he could usually pretend like everything was fine. And yet every single year when summertime rolled around, he'd instantly get a fever.

His watery-than-usual eyes glanced over at the wall clock, hoping to silence it with a look. The ticking was just adding to his headache.

A soft knock on the door made Ikuto cringe as he tightened his fist around the sheet. "I'm sleeping." He said as loudly as he could without bursting his eardrums.

Amu opened the door anyways and walked in with a glass full of water. Bless her. He had already finished the water he had gotten just half an hour earlier.

Ikuto peered over his shoulder before sighing and turning back to face the window. "I'm still sleeping."

"You are not, you liar." She snapped before closing the door with her foot. She sounded more confident than she felt. After setting the water down, she walked over to the window and pulled the blinds down, followed by the curtains. Ikuto could practically feel his headache cowering away as she continued to go around the room, getting rid of all the lights.

"What are you doing?"

The girl stopped and turned around once hearing how weak his voice sounded. She almost wanted to go over and pet him. Like he was a sick pet of hers.

Pulling back the thick blanket that Ikuto hid under, Amu slid into the bed beside him, leaving the blanket off.

"If you're going to have a fever, you really shouldn't overheat yourself by drowning your body in blankets and letting the sun into your room." She said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Ikuto just hummed, his back still facing her. "How fascinating."

Even though she acted like it was nothing when she climbed onto the bed beside him, her heartbeat was pounding in her eardrums and her palms were starting to sweat. Since when did she become such a wreck?

Amu frowned. Perhaps this was a bad idea.

"Should I leave?" She asked quietly.

He was breathing deeply, making Amu think he had fallen asleep. But finally he answered, "Yes."

She resisted the urge to beat him up as she growled at him and glared. Her stubborn side overruled the timid nagging in her head and she scoffed. "Well, too bad! You're stuck with me, bud."

They fell back into a comfortable silence as Amu sunk into the foamy mattress. Ikuto had the only pillow, but she wasn't about to fight him for it like she usually would. He was uncomfortable enough in his current state and she didn't want to add to that.

"You're going to get sick too." His voice came out no louder than a whisper.

"You sound like a dead man," Amu commented, dead-panned, "but getting sick is a risk I'm willing to take."

She watched the careful rise and fall of his shoulders, his back still facing her. Smiling softly, she reached out and rubbed his back in a way she hoped was soothing. So when he had said that she should leave, it was really only because he didn't want her to get sick as well. He could have just come out and said it that way instead of bluntly saying 'yes' to her asking if she should leave. But leave it to Ikuto to be capable of being rude while being kind.

Holding his weight up on his elbow, he moved the pillow closer to Amu and struggled to turn towards her, giving her one half of the pillow to lie on as he closed his eyes again. "Risks are good." He breathed out.

Amu frowned at this after moving her head to lie on the other half of the pillow. "Are they?" She whispered, not really knowing who she was addressing the question to. Her eyes searched his face for an answer. Risk. It was a scary word.

Ikuto cracked open a watery eye and glanced down at her.

In that instant, a lump formed in her throat as she stared up at him. Holy crap. She liked him. A lot. This was dangerous, troublesome and…risky. Was she really willing to risk two years of friendship just to see if it would work out between them? This made the lump in her throat grow larger and her heart clench as she watched him. This was the boy she had always gone to when she had a problem. He had always been there, had always been supportive of her. And he knew her. He knew her more than anyone else did. She didn't have to pretend to be someone different around him- she could just be herself and that was enough.

His tired eyes searched hers as he breathed softly. "Why wouldn't they be?" He murmured quietly.

'Oh if only you knew.' Amu thought sadly. So this internal battle she had been experiencing for the last couple days had been this. But then…how did she feel about Tadase? Her torn thoughts made her want to curl up and disappear for a while until this drama subsided.

"How's Tadase?"

Holy crap he _was_ a mind-reader! Amu's eyes widened as she looked at him again. "Wh-what?"

"How's your relationship with him?"

Amu stuttered and stumbled over her words. "I-uh I…don't know."

"Don't you still like him?"

"O-of course!" She winced. She had answered out of habit. On the other hand, she was kind of glad she hadn't answered truthfully and said that she didn't know. That would just arise more questions that she wasn't prepared to answer at this time.

Ikuto hummed after a moment. "…That's good. Now go to sleep, I'm tired."

The atmosphere instantly took a turn for the worst and Amu felt her heart crush. She should've told him the truth. She hated lying to him. Though technically this wasn't lying, she just wasn't telling him the full truth.

And once again, she asked herself... did she still like Tadase?


	12. Things I'l Never Say

**_"These words keep slipping away. I stutter, I stumble, like I've got nothing to say. It don't do me any good. It's just a waste of time. What use is it to you what's on my mind?" - Things I'll Never Say_**

**Chapter 12: Things I'll never say**

It had been a long three days since Amu's grand realization. She could already feel the discovery crushing her shoulders and weighing her down. It was like a ball and chain she was forced to haul around with her constantly. She wasn't all too sure why it even felt this way in the first place. It's not like there was anything wrong with liking Ikuto, it was just the fact that he had been her best friend for the past two years and he probably only saw her as a fork…or some other inanimate object that held no sex appeal.

Amu took a seat on her bed and sighed. There wasn't even a way to make a fork look sexy. It was too prickly…and yet dull at the same time. Not to mention forks were just stupid. She couldn't even be a curvy spoon - because she had no curves. Sighing again, Amu wandered over to her closet in search of something semi-decent to cover this fork with.

Kukai had invited the gang to watch his soccer match that afternoon. Utau wasn't able to attend since she had to rehearse for her concert that was coming up. But knowing her, she'd somehow make an appearance at his game no matter what it took.

Now that was dedication.

The Tsukiyomis had good genes. Utau wasn't one to show much feeling and emotion in public, yet there was always a reassurance in the air that let you know that she'd always be there to provide a shoulder to cry on. She and Ikuto were so similar. Amu was tempted to just throw a wig on Utau and get her to chop her boobs off so Amu could like her instead of her brother. Perhaps that would be easier.

But on the other hand, that would be destroying Utau and Kukai's happy relationship and Amu didn't have the heart to do that. If two people are happy together, everyone should just leave them alone.

Dropping onto her bed face-first, Amu let out a whimper. Not only was she dying from the excrutiating headache she had, but she had this to deal with, too. It would be so much easier if she just continued to like Tadase. But noooooo of course she had to go and gain feelings for Mr. 'I-don't-show-any-emotion-and-when-I-do-it's-because-I'm-dating-Lulu-and-not-Amu-because-she's-like-a-fork-to-me-not-even-a-sister-just-a-fork.'

Finally pulling herself off the bed once again, Amu dove into her closet and pulled out some clothes without allowing another thought to linger to the teen who inhabited the room across from hers. This was driving her insane and she wasn't going to allow it to go on much longer. She'd ignore it completely and carry on with her happy life.

She decided on a pair of jean shorts and a black t-shirt. Pulling her hair up into a ponytail after tugging on some socks, she hurried towards the stairs, nearly knocking into Ikuto on the way.

"Holy crap!" Amu gasped out as she grabbed onto his arm to stop herself from falling. "Y-you almost killed me."

Ikuto arched an eyebrow, carefully eyeing her flushed cheeks. He had spent the last few days basically on bed-rest and was now feeling well enough to wander the house. He didn't feel good enough to go to the game with her, though.

"You've got your head in the clouds again, little one." He commented while patting her on the head.

Amu glared up at him, her dizzy gaze struggling to focus. "I'm not little! I'm only like…a year younger than you!"

"Mm…seems little to me."

With all the emotions swirling through her, this simple comment made her want to shut herself up in the bathroom and cry.

She was certain that a few betraying tears had begun to well up in her eyes as she glared at him.

Ikuto's sapphire orbs widened just a smidgeon at this and he opened his mouth to speak, but Amu quickly cut him off as she cleared her throat and looked away.

"I have to go. I'll see you later."

Nearly falling over herself, Amu scrambled out the front door and leaned against it, trying to shake off the dizzy feeling that had been coming and going all day. Honestly, she felt terrible. Her head had been aching ever since last night and her cheeks were more flushed than usual - and surprisingly, it wasn't due to her terrible blushing habit.

Despite all the symptoms, she refused to admit that she might be coming down with whatever Ikuto had.

She brushed it aside and started on her walk towards the nearby stadium. She probably just needed some fresh air and a good walk.

Another reason she could've been feeling this way is because of all the stress she had put herself under. Liking someone wasn't supposed to be this stressful; she was overreacting way too much.

Amu's attention flickered briefly to what date it was today. Was it really that time again? No…it felt like it just ended. She groaned aloud.

"You've got to be kidding me." She whispered to herself.

"If you keep talking to yourself, people will think you're crazy." Ikuto whispered in her ear from behind.

She flailed her arms out as she screeched, jumping away from the boy.

He must have been feeling better, seeing as how he was more than willing to tease her like this. He was even beginning to smirk again. Whoop-dee-doo. And in return, she was the one who was now suffering.

"What are you doing here?" She grumbled with her arms crossed. They had resumed walking, Ikuto now beside her. "I thought you weren't feeling well enough to watch Kukai's game."

Ikuto looked at her from the corner of his eye and calmly pocketed his hands. "I'm not."

Amu rolled her eyes. "That makes perfect sense."

She caught another rush of dizziness and grabbed onto a nearby tree to stabilize herself. Ignoring Ikuto's look, she cleared her throat and continued on.

"And you're not, either." He spoke again.

Amu sent him a questioning look, furrowing her eyebrows. "What?"

"You're not feeling well, either." Ikuto repeated before his pace slowed to a stop. "You might fool everyone else, but I'm sure even you know that you can't fool me that easily."

Pursing her lips together, Amu whirled around and opened her mouth to start firing off words to prove him wrong, but mid-twirl, she felt dizzy again.

Ikuto quickly reached out and pressed a hand against her shoulder to stabilize her. "…You were saying?"

They both knew he was right and she was wrong, but she wasn't willing to give up without a fight.

"I-I'm completely fine!" She retorted. "I've just been lacking sleep and I'm pretty sure I'm about to get my period any day now so I'm all out of whack and-" She quickly shut her mouth as her eyes widened. Why did she just tell him that! Was it normal for her to talk about her period so freely when he was around? She held back the urge to whimper in embarrassment as she stared at him, trying to keep her expression as blank as his was.

He towered over her in all his expressionless glory, sporting dark jeans and his blue shirt (the one that clashed with his hair) - yet he looked absolutely gorgeous.

The Greek god and the fork. Amu sighed. It would never work out. And she had to stop being so dang depressed over it. Yes, she was very aware that she was sulking.

"It's okay to speak your mind." Ikuto stated, his all-knowing gaze burning into her weary eyes. "Why bother staying strong if it makes you even weaker?"

Amu attempted to scoff, but it came out sounding more like a choking noise as her eyes filled with tears again. It hurt whenever he showed he cared about her. "You're one to talk." Her voice was no louder than a broken whisper as she forced herself to make eye-contact with him.

Ikuto frowned. "What is it you want?"

_'You. I want to be able to date you without it destroying our friendship. I want you to fall head-over-heels in love with me and not regret it at all. I want all the other girls who like you to know that you're mine and I'm yours._' Another dizzy spell washed over her and she settled with saying, "I want to go home."

She was ready to throw up her insides at this moment. Her limbs were shaky and she was burning up under the early-evening sun.

He made no reply to this but simply turned around, kneeling down in front of her.

Amu giggled like a little school girl as a tear dripped down her cheek. Climbing onto his back, she rested her chin in the crook of his neck as he began walking them back home. She held onto him tightly, letting the rocking of his movement lull her to sleep.

Just as she was dozing off, she had to throw in an insult for old-time's sake. "That shirt really does clash badly with your hair." She uttered.

She could feel his chuckle vibrate through his shoulders.

"I'm aware."

Smiling to herself, Amu let herself fall asleep, comforted by the reassurance that Ikuto would always be there. Even if it wasn't as a boyfriend, he'd be there as a friend and that was enough for her at this moment.

* * *

><p><em>Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt.<em>

The room was pitch black with only a small bit of moonlight straining in through the blinds, lighting up the floor and a corner of a wall.

Struggling to open her eyes, Amu felt blindly around the bed for her phone. It being on the mattress made the vibrating sound even louder than it was as it rumbled the bed.

Her hand finally grasped down on the phone, finding it by her knees.

"Hello?" She cringed at how hoarse her voice sounded. She resembled an eighty year old man who had one too many prunes lodged in his throat.

"You sound like my dead grandma." Rima's voice came from the other line.

Amu grimaced. "Thank you. I pride myself on it. Does it turn you on?"

"You have no idea." She replied, expressionless.

This made Amu smile as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

"So thanks for telling us you were going to come to the game and then you don't show up. We really felt the love."

Amu's eyes widened. Falling asleep on Ikuto wasn't at all part of the plan. She originally intended to at least text someone to let them know she wouldn't be there after all. "I'm so sorry! I think I caught Ikuto's fever 'cause I haven't been feeling good at all today and I was honestly on my way to the game but Ikuto met up with me and I decided to just go home 'cause I kept getting these dizzy spells and…yeah. Sorry."

"Lies. You two probably just decided you'd enjoy sex much more than a game so you both ditched."

Even in the dark, Amu was positive her blush was visible from miles away. Her cheeks burned as she stuttered over her words. "N-n-n-no way! Wh-why are you saying things like that?" She whispered harshly.

She could practically hear Rima's coy smile slowly appear. "You know it's true. Anyway, moving on to me now." She never was one to waste time. "Nagihiko asked me out on another date for tomorrow…"

Eyes widening along with her grin, Amu fought off the wave of dizziness so she could be excited for her friend. "No way! And you agreed to it, right? Because as I recall, you did enjoy your previous date a whole heap."

"…I suppose. But, yes, I agreed to it - quite reluctantly, I'll tell you, because I originally had plans to get my hair done." Rima spoke with a careless tone, as if she wasn't entirely new to the whole dating scene.

Amu continued to grin like an idiot. "I'm so happy for you! I know it's going to go great and you'll see how amazing of a guy he is."

"Who said I hadn't already discovered how amazing he is?"

The pinkette squealed in delight.

"My sentiments exactly. So, yeah, just figured I'd phone to make sure you weren't dead somewhere." Rima commented through a yawn. "But now I shall get to sleep so that I can actually wake up in time for this so-called 'second date.' Goodnight."

Amu bit down on her lip to keep from smiling too widely. "Goodnight!"

"Oh and Amu? Keep it down with all the sex."

She hung up before Amu could respond with an angry string of insults.

How dare Rima make her blush so much in one conversation.

Tossing her phone onto her nightstand, Amu tugged off her shorts and climbed into bed. Reaching over to the empty space beside her, she frowned slightly and played with the cold fabric of the sheet. Even though she decided they'd remain just as friends, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have Ikuto sleep next to her as a regular occurrence.

She blushed once realizing how creepy she was. Really, she knew no one else who was ever this obsessed with another person.

_Meanwhile…_

"See, Ikuto was on bedrest for the past few days with his fever." Tsumugu plotted out carefully, drawing a blue-haired stickman on the paper in front of him.

He swore he was onto something here. He leaned against the kitchen island and drummed his fingers along his chin. It didn't matter that it was past midnight, he knew, absolutely knew, that he was getting at something.

Midori rolled her eyes from her seat at the table behind him.

"And now Ikuto carries Amu home because she, too, is sick." He hummed to himself as he drew a pink-haired stickperson wearing a dress. "Now, how is that possible that she got sick when Ikuto was isolated from everyone during his days of being ill?"

"Maybe the sickness crawled under the door and into Amu's room." Midori sighed, not as enthusiastic about this discovery as her husband was. She just wanted to sleep. However, it was impossible to do so since Tsumugu had insisted on her hearing all about his new finding.

"They must have been together at some time in the past few days!" Tsumugu declared, drawing a plus sign between the two stick figures. "Was it when that purple-haired boy was over?" A stickman of Nagihiko was added to the page. "Or…" He lowered his voice to a creepy whisper, "under the cover of nightfall?"

A moon was drawn.

Sighing, Midori slowly stood up from the dining room table and moved across the room to turn off the lights. "Honey, let's go to sleep. You can work on this in the morning."

"I've got it!" Tsumugu declared with happy tears cascading down his face. "They're together right now, I just know it!"

Without another word, he pranced up the staircase in a heartbeat and whipped open the door to his eldest daughter's room.

She was sleeping. Alone.

"DAMMIT!"

**Author's Note: Okaayy so this was more of a filler. But next chapter SHALL BE GREAT. LULU MAKES HER GRAND RETURN! WAKAKAKAKAAKAAAAA. Bye.**


	13. It's Not My Party

**Author's Note: Before you thrust yourself into the world of this chapter, I must first clarify that I DO NOT BELIEVE MYSELF TO BE AN IKUTO-PRO. I apologize if before it seemed like I was calling myself one, but I am nowhere close to being one. PHEEWW okay, glad that's cleared up. Trolololo now on with the story!**

_**"The spaces between your fingers were created so that another's could fill them in." - Unknown**_

**Chapter 13: It's Not My Party...**

"Is it wrong that this song turns me on?"

Amu nearly choked on her toothbrush. Whirling around, she sent Ikuto a bewildered look and shuffled over to the computer to change the song.

From his spot on her bed, he was smirking in a way that made her realize he had been joking. Nonetheless, she didn't want to take her chances and quickly switched songs, all the while keeping eye-contact with the teen who was lounging on her bed with a plate of cookies.

She resumed brushing her teeth as she pattered back over to her closet in search of an outfit.

It was the day of Saaya's party and at last minute, Ikuto had announced that she was going with him. He claimed that if he had to suffer, she was going to suffer along with him.

Amu had pointed out that he really didn't have to go, but he had said that if he didn't then he'd be forced to endure another horror movie night with Nagihiko, Rima, and Tadase, since Utau and Kukai weren't going to be there, having also been invited to the party. In a way, this wasn't necessarily his escape, but more of Amu's. She would do anything to make sure she wouldn't be forced to sit through more agonizing films that made her skin crawl and shiver - even if it meant attending a party that would be hosted by Yamabuki Saaya.

"I don't even like parties!" Amu whined as she left the room to go rinse her mouth.

"And I completely adore them." Ikuto replied sarcastically as he followed her out of the room and leaned against the bathroom doorframe.

The rosette sent him a look as she swished warm water around in her mouth. Spitting into the sink, she patted her mouth dry and followed him back into her room, where her hunt for clothes continued.

"What if I'm not fully healthy and I start throwing up all over the party guests?" She laughed sinisterly as she removed a shirt from the closet.

"Hmm…we could always call in sick for both the party and the movie night so we could have some fun of our own." Ikuto commented with a suggestive look in his eyes.

Amu's cheeks instantly coloured as her thoughts began to swarm. She hid her face from him so he wouldn't see her all-telling blush. "I-Ikuto! I'd rather go to the party, thank you very much." Lies. All lies. But she would never admit the truth.

"…Well _I_ thought it was a good idea…" he murmured from behind her.

Rolling her eyes, she smiled to herself as Ikuto left the room to get changed.

She had no idea what to wear to a party. The only parties she had been to were birthday parties hosted at sticky indoor playgrounds that wreaked of urine and feet. It was never written on her to-do list to attend a high school house party.

"Ikuto?" Amu yelled as she dug deeper, to the back of her closet, "what the heck do you wear to a party?"

His reply came a few beats later.

"Depends. Would you consider yourself a slut?"

She glared at the direction of his room. "IKUTO!"

He emerged through the doorway of her room in the middle of buttoning up his black dress shirt. "I'll take that as a 'no.'"

Wandering over to Amu's closet to aid her in her search, Ikuto rolled up his sleeves and started rummaging through the different clothing articles. While he was busy, Amu snuck a look at his appearance, completely floored that he could wear anything and look good. Tonight he chose his dress shirt that looked casual when paired off with the dark jeans he wore now.

She'd never admit how much she loved it when he rolled up his sleeves to reveal his muscular forearms. She had always loved that, even before realizing she liked him.

Then again, all the girls at the party would love it just as much, too. This made Amu scowl.

Ikuto hummed as he looked over his shoulder at her. "What's wrong?"

Amu's eyes widened once realizing she had actually scowled quite loudly. "N-nothing, I just can't believe we can't find anything."

He returned his attention to the clothes in front of him. "Well, that's not entirely true…" He began slowly.

The tone of his voice made suspicion creep onto Amu's back as she tried to see over his shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

He whirled around with a black skirt in his grasp. "And here you were saying that you weren't a slut."

"B-because I'm not!" Amu defended before she stepped onto her tiptoes and tried to grab the skirt out of his hand, which made him lift it higher, "There is no way I'm wearing that! It's at the back of my closet for a reason."

Ikuto looked down at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Then why do you have it in the first place?"

Jumping up, she yanked it out of his hands and looked at him darkly while trying to get rid of her blush of embarrassment. "Ask your _sister_. On one of our many shopping expeditions she found it and claimed it'd be perfect if an occasion came up where I wanted to seduce someone."

Ikuto arched an eyebrow as Amu started browsing through her shirts.

"Can't say I'm surprised," he mumbled.

Amu's eyes widened while she scrambled over to her phone to text Utau. She must've been losing her mind since it hadn't even crossed her mind to ask Utau, the fashion queen, what to wear.

While immersed in her conversation with his sister, she could hear Ikuto mumble to himself, "How 'bout we stick you in a paper bag and call it good?"

Her phone vibrated before she could come up with a witty response.

'_Wear those pyjamas you're so fond of.'_

Amu stared at the phone, deadpanned. Though she didn't blame Utau for suggesting it. Amu was even surprising herself by putting this much effort into an outfit to fit in with people she didn't even like. Normally she would just wear the pyjamas she was in now.

_'I need something…better.'_ She texted back, hoping Utau would pick up on what she was getting at.

No, she didn't consider herself a slut. She never wore revealing clothes and was still a virgin, thank you very much. But right now she was in a daring mood.

Utau understood. Her text made Amu blush.

_'OOOOOOOOHHHHHH and sexy Amu is unleashed. Who're you trying to impress?'_

Amu tried extremely hard to keep a poker face in case Ikuto looked over at her. But so far he was still immersed with looking for an outfit for her.

_'He's standing in front of me.'_

Utau responded in a heartbeat.

_'I see how it is. I always knew you'd give in to his charm. Weeeell if it's my brother we're talking about, you might have to pull out your secret weapon to make him see you as more than just a friend.'_

She knew it would come down to this. Amu quickly threw down her phone and discreetly picked up the skirt Ikuto had suggested before. Hiding it behind her back, she ushered Ikuto out of her room so she could change.

"So you found something?" He guessed through her closed door.

Amu nervously bit on her lip as she stared at the outfit she had quickly put together. "…Y-yeah."

Lunging for her phone, she quickly sent Utau a text before begrudgingly peeling off her comfortable pyjamas.

'_I'm wearing the skirt._'

She could practically hear Utau cheering her on as she wiggled into the skin-tight, black material that clung to her butt for dear life. It stopped just a bit higher than mid-thigh - short enough to make her want to wear leggings underneath. She knew if she even dared to wear something to cover her legs Utau would have her head on a platter in an instant. According to the blond, Amu's legs were 'killer', even if she was a bit on the short side.

In the end she had decided on a black v-neck sweater for a top. Okay, so maybe she wore it to match Ikuto, but it also did go well with the skirt. To match him even more, she pushed the sleeves up to her elbows.

Her heart thumped nervously in her chest as she slowly turned the doorknob for the 'grand reveal,' knowing Ikuto was waiting on the other side of the door.

When she pulled open the door fully, she cringed internally once her golden orbs met his intimidating gaze. The problem with Ikuto is that even after two years of being almost inseparable from him, he was and always would be impossible to read.

Amu found herself worrying her lip as he took in her appearance.

It was impossible to predict what he was going to say. She kind of hoped he'd say something along the lines of, 'Oh my sweet heavens, I can't believe I've been blind this whole time. I love you and I always have, let's get married.' Sadly, something told her he wasn't going to say that.

"No." He stated firmly.

Amu's eyebrows slanted downwards as her eyes widened. That was probably the last response she was hoping from him. "Wh-what?"

Ikuto's gaze darkened as he stared her down. "You bet your little ass you're not going out in public wearing that."

Well, this was hard to predict. The stubborn side of her made her argue back to see if she could win this fight for once.

"What's wrong with it? No indecent body parts are hanging out!"

Ikuto just continued to pierce through her with those threatening eyes of his. "I will stick you in an astronaut suit and that'll be your grand outfit."

Rolling her eyes, Amu blew her bangs out of her face. "Old man."

"10..."

"Oh, come on! Where would you even get an astronaut suit?"

"9..."

"I bet eight comes after nine!" Amu exclaimed girlishly in hopes of angering Ikuto into stopping his counting.

"3..."

"What? You can't skip numbers like that!"

"2..."

"Okay, I'm going! Stupid, idiotic, perverted…" Amu continued mumbling insulting adjectives as she stomped back into her room.

She grabbed a pair of dark jean shorts and pulled them on. They were about the same length as the skirt, so she hoped he wouldn't send her back to change again. Then again, they weren't as tight as the skirt was, therefore, he had no reason to order her around again.

Throwing open her door, she glared at him as she waited for his approval.

After a thorough look over her appearance, Ikuto nodded slowly and turned around to go downstairs. Amu sighed and shoved her phone into her pocket before following after him.

For once, they weren't going to walk to their destination. Midori had granted them permission to take the car. Tsumugu was a little less enthusiastic about them going out in general but eventually caved in like he usually did when it came to his eldest daughter. Sure he was protective, but he had a weak spot when it came to her happiness.

Amu pulled on her black sneakers and followed Ikuto to the car.

"Can I drive?" She asked eagerly.

Ikuto just snorted as he hopped into the driver's seat. "Of course you can… the day I wish for death."

Amu rolled her eyes and buckled herself into the passenger seat. "That day will be soon, Tsukiyomi." She uttered darkly as he pulled out of the driveway.

As they drove down the darkening streets, Amu glanced over at Ikuto and blushed faintly once realizing they were nearly matching completely. She quickly diverted her gaze and silently thanked him for making her change clothes. Not only was she much more comfortable in her shorts, but they now matched Ikuto's bottoms as well, though his were pants.

This wouldn't be too bad. As long as she stuck near Ikuto the entire party, she might actually end up enjoying herself, she decided.

While distracted by the buildings zooming by, Amu felt Ikuto's warm fingers slide in between her own.

Eyes wide and cheeks red, Amu whirled around to look at him, sending him a questioning look.

He smirked before faking a pout, "I'm scared."

Amu rolled her eyes and looked away to hide the goofiest smile known to mankind that had grown on her lips. She could feel jolts of electricity running through her veins as her heart thumped loudly against her ribcage, so loud she swore Ikuto could hear it and was probably internally laughing because of it. Such a small gesture and yet she was going ballistic. She blamed him for no longer being able to concentrate on the scenery passing by - now she was distracted by the horrifying thought that her hands might start sweating any minute now due to nervousness.

They arrived at the party quicker than she had hoped, but on the other hand, she was a little relieved when he let go of her hand, that way she could finally breath again.

When they were given permission to enter the house, it didn't take long for them to realize they were a little more than fashionably late.

Ikuto instantly blamed Amu, who just called him an idiot in response.

It took a while, but they manoeuvred their way through the people and found Utau and Kukai by the drinks.

"Nice skirt." Utau commented with an arched eyebrow as she stared at Amu's shorts.

"This guy made me change." Amu responded with a nod in Ikuto's direction, who didn't look like he regretted his decision at all.

Before their conversation could continue, Utau silently nudged Amu while Ikuto and Kukai started a conversation of their own. Sending the blond a confused look, all Amu got in response was a nod in the direction behind her.

The pinkette glanced over her shoulder and felt her heart smash to the bottom of her stomach.

Lulu had arrived.


	14. But I'll Cry If I Want To

_**"She's cold and she's cruel but she knows what she's doing. She pushed me in the pool at our last school reunion." - The Click Five**_

**Chapter 14: …But I'll Cry If I Want To**

It was only an hour or so into the party and Amu already had a headache from the impossibly loud music that filled the living room and trickled down the hallways. No one was even dancing. Amu was ready to suggest that they just turn the music off completely, as it was only a nuisance.

However, Saaya seemed to be the only one enjoying the music. She was dancing with some boy in the far corner of the room.

Amu continued people-watching and found that it was almost like a school reunion. She recognized a lot of people form middle school whom she hadn't seen in ages. One was a tall, lanky boy named Sanjo Kairi whose green hair always seemed to have the same style, no matter what age he was. He had always been a straight-A student and judging by the way he still dressed just as smartly as ever, he hadn't changed much.

"That stuff is gross," Utau commented from her seat on the couch beside Amu. The blond grabbed another drink and tossed it back, making a face as it raced down her throat.

Earlier, Amu had lost a game of rock, paper, scissors, and was the unfortunate one to be stuck with the drunk-in-the-making Utau while Ikuto and Kukai went off to find food. Rumour had it that there was a barbeque out in the backyard. Not that Amu would know, though, since she had yet to move from her seat.

Utau mumbled something under her breath as she handed Amu a cup.

"Drink it," Utau said in response to the pinkette's questioning look.

"I'd rather not," Amu replied distastefully.

"It's just beer. Come on, you can't go to a party and not have a single drink."

Normally Utau wouldn't be this pushy with anything. Blame it on the alcohol.

To get Utau off her back, Amu took a small sip of the bitter yet creamy drink. She made a face and turned to Utau, "Happy?"

"Completely," the blond replied before reaching for another one.

Beginning another scan about the room, Amu idly continued sipping at her drink. Her gaze halted at the sight of a familiar blond with ruby eyes. She didn't realize Tadase had been invited, too.

She was about to get up and go over to him, but he appeared to have had one too many drinks, for he soon began yelling at a goldfish that swam in a bowl on the table beside him. "Who're you looking at, commoner!" He exclaimed while pointing an accusing finger at the fish.

Amu and Utau turned towards each other and started sniggering behind their beer cups.

"Oh gosh, who let him near the alcohol?" Utau laughed while Amu tried not to choke on her drink as she finished it off in the midst of her giggling.

The pinkette reached for another full cup from the coffee table in front of her.

At this moment, Utau seemed to recall the information Amu had told her earlier that day. Her violet eyes widened as she turned to look at the girl beside her, who was already halfway through her second drink.

"Wait, so you, missy, like my brother!" she recalled, "Since when?"

Amu peered down at the empty glass in her hands and shrugged. For all she knew she could have been crushing on him for the past two years and all it took for her to realize her feelings was seeing him in a different light.

"I…don't know," she finally replied.

"Aaawwww," Utau cooed uncharacteristically before she smirked, "So what about my brother has got your insides flipping?"

Amu sent Utau a weird look. She acted so different when she was tipsy. Normally she wouldn't care too much about the little details. Amu rubbed her hands against her cup and frowned. It was nearly impossible to think with the music rattling her ear drums.

"I-I don't know… I just… I like how I'm completely comfortable around him and how he's respectful…not in an ass-kissing way but more subtly," Amu's eyes glazed over as she continued gushing about him, "And…okay…don't judge me 'cause I swear I'm not creepy, but I've noticed that whenever he makes a sandwich, he sings under his breath. But only with sandwiches - never when he makes something else! And I- I just…love that. It's really just the little things that got to me." Amu smiled to herself and sunk deeper into the couch.

Utau cooed again before suggesting they go outside where it would hopefully be a little quieter. Amu eagerly agreed and followed Utau's lead to the back. Although the backyard wasn't thumping with music, the two girls were now surrounded by loud teenage boys who were all huddled by the barbeque. Not to mention there was the occasional couple who insisted on eating each other's faces off in front of everyone.

Amu nearly gagged at the sight and followed Utau over to where Kukai was standing with his fellow soccer players. He grinned upon seeing her.

"My dear," he greeted before placing a kiss on his girlfriend's lips, "I hope you haven't been giving Amu too hard of a time." He sent Amu an apologetic glance.

Utau swiped a hotdog off Kukai's plate and shrugged, "Of course not. Have you seen Ikuto?"

Kukai was more than willing to go off and sulk as his girlfriend began to devour his food. The brunette glanced in the direction he had last seen Ikuto and pointed once spotting him. "Right over there, deary," he swiped the remaining hotdog out of Utau's hand and popped it in his mouth, "by the pool talking to Lulu."

Amu followed his gesture, feeling sick. Across the sea of scantily clad females and drooling men, she found the couple in question. Of course they had found each other. And of course Lulu had to be wearing a dress that was far more revealing than her skirt had been - yet Ikuto wasn't threatening _her_ with a spacesuit.

"Look at that," Amu sighed drearily with her gaze still on the duo, "she can wear a dress like that and still not look like a slut, but look amazing."

Utau turned to look at who Amu was referring to. She scoffed once her eyes landed on Lulu. "She still looks like a ho to me. I bet Ikuto thinks so, too." The blond noticed Amu's doubtful look and added in, "She's probably talking about her latest trip to the liposuction office and he's just begging for someone to rescue him," she paused to send Amu a look, "So go forth! Just tell him that we got separated and you're looking for me. I'll be in the front yard."

Amu didn't have the time to turn down the idea, as Utau was already pushing her in Ikuto's direction. She took three steps before turning back to return to Utau, only to discover she had already vanished into the crowd. The pinkette growled through her teeth. She'd get her revenge later. For now she had to concentrate on the task at hand.

She slowly made her way through the crowd while keeping an eye on Ikuto and Lulu to make sure they didn't move. She was acting too possessive. She really had no reason to get worked up simply because they were talking. They had broken up for a reason and Ikuto was smart enough to make his own decisions when it came to who was good for him, right? Right.

Amu watched as Lulu laughed and dragged her hand down Ikuto's arm. SCREW THE PLAN TO BE CIVILIZED, THE BITCH WAS GOING DOWN. The pink-haired girl tried to even out her breathing as she finally reached the duo. It was now or never, whether she wanted to do this or not.

Ikuto was first to see her over Lulu's shoulder and interrupted the blond in mid-sentence. "Amu," was all he said as a greeting.

Really? That's all she got? Why not a big hug? She bet Lulu got a hug. Bitch.

Amu's language was even surprising herself. She never was one to swear, but she figured the alcohol was taking its toll on her.

"Hey, Ikuto, have you seen Utau anywhere?" Amu asked, trying to sound as concerned as possible, "We got separated and I'd rather not hang out near a couple who's basically swapping STDs in front of everyone."

Turning his attention to the crowd, Ikuto scanned for Utau while Lulu turned around to include Amu in their conversation.

"You're…Hinamori Amu, right?" The blond clarified. Her hair was perfectly curled and her deep azure eyes gave off the impression that nothing escaped her notice. Usually she might have been seen as intimidating, but Amu never felt inferior to her until now.

"Yes, ma'am," Amu responded, clearly bored with this conversation. Okay, so Lulu wasn't that bad of a person, but Amu was in a bad mood, so it didn't matter what kind of person Lulu was.

"I don't normally see you at parties," Lulu commented innocently enough, though Amu swore that on the inside she was declaring war.

"That's 'cause I don't normally come to these things," The pinkette responded simply before turning her gaze to Ikuto, who was watching the girls interact.

Lulu had noticed Amu's attention switch and resumed talking, a sneaky glint appearing in her eyes, "Hey, Amu, have you ever had a screaming orgasm? They're pretty good- you can get one inside."

Amu's eyes widened in horror as her cheeks turned crimson, "Wh-what?"

Lulu laughed and even Ikuto was trying not to smile.

"It's a drink," he explained while sharing a silent laugh with Lulu.

Amu instantly felt like an idiot as her cheeks continued to blaze. She was just making a fool out of herself by talking with them. But she reassured herself that Ikuto wouldn't purposely make fun of her, so perhaps they didn't realize that such a simple joke actually made her feel bad.

This made her want to hit herself for being so easily offended. She never would have guessed that she'd end up being an emotional drunk. However, she refused to believe she was drunk - only tipsy.

Lulu watched a group of teenagers jump into the pool and tuned back into the conversation. "That looks fun. We should join them!" She now glanced at Amu and asked if she wanted to.

Truth be told, she'd rather not, just to make sure some drunk person didn't throw up on her.

"It'll be fun," Lulu commented, "You could go in your shorts. You'd just have to get a bikini top…" She drifted off and Amu swore the blond's blue-eyed gaze lowered to Amu's chest.

"Well… on second thought, there's kind of nothing to cover up… so you wouldn't even really need a top."

Now Amu was not only pissed but kind of hurt, too. This blond actually had the audacity to insult her so bluntly? One of the things Amu was most self conscious about was her lack of chest. It didn't make it better when others were constantly pointing out how flat she was.

"It's like a board," Lulu said quietly to Ikuto, followed by a tinkle of laughter.

"Right," Amu responded through gritted teeth, "I'll go find that screaming orgasm now." She turned to walk away but stopped to look back at Lulu. Utau would never allow such a remark to go unanswered. And with the alcohol coursing through her veins, she almost felt invincible.

"Oh, and Lulu?" The pinkette called as she turned back around, "I don't think your dad appreciates you taking his belt to try to wear as a dress. Your vagina's kind of hanging out." She whirled around and began stalking away, feeling entirely pissed off. It may have been the drinks, but it seemed that even the slightest things were affecting her mood.

Her heart belted in her ears when she heard Ikuto call out her name before he grabbed onto her arm to get her to stop and turn around. She glared at him with all her might while waiting for him to speak his piece.

"Don't take it to heart, she didn't mean to insult you," He sighed once realizing Amu could hardly stand straight. "How much did you drink?"

Amu brushed off his question with a scowl and yanked her arm out of his grip, feeling a tad woozy while doing so. She let her emotional state take over. "'Don't take it to heart'? What's that supposed to mean? _Everyone_ teases me about being flat, even Ami! Lulu stating it as a fact that wasn't supposed to be insulting doesn't make it any better!" She was breathing deeply now and with her heart pumping loudly, she felt the need to continue her rant. "How could you date a girl like that? She's completely foul and it's like she's got you completely wrapped around her finger still!"

"Amu, you're taking this too far," Ikuto sighed as he raked a hand through his navy locks. He looked completely worn out and sleep-deprived. And yet sober. Ikuto never had been one to drink or get involved in the party scene.

"She made a small comment that was kind of true, big deal."

Amu went silent. It felt like someone had stabbed her in the back. So maybe the alcohol really was affecting her more than she thought, but even if she was completely sober, that remark still would've hurt.

She stared up at him with wide eyes that were brimming with tears.

Ikuto's gaze instantly softened as a shadow of regret crossed his features, "Amu-"

"So you're siding with her? It's 'kind of true' that I'm lacking a feminine physique? Thank you for pointing that out because I hadn't noticed! It's not like it crosses my mind every single day when I get dressed!" she spat venomously before turning to leave again. All she wanted now was to go to the front yard to find Utau so she could go home. She hated parties.

Ikuto called out her name again and touched her shoulder to stop her from walking away.

She was more than willing to push him away and continue walking. As much as she wanted to hate him, the sober part of her pointed out that she was making a big deal out of a small comment of agreement he made. She knew that Ikuto told the truth whether it was inappropriate timing or not. He was just telling the truth- and she admitted, her chest _was_ small. Big deal. So why was she mad at him? All she was accomplishing was making a bigger fool of herself with every passing moment she spent in a drunken fury.

Amu stopped walking and breathed deep, calming breaths as she let her eyes close, pushing tears down her cheeks while Ikuto moved so he was standing in front of her. His hands were still firmly planted on her shoulders.

"What…what's gotten into you lately?" He asked gently. His thumbs started tracing circles on her upper arms as his dark eyes scanned her face for answers.

She didn't dare open her eyes or speak, so she settled with a shake of the head. She didn't know what was happening to her. All she knew for sure was that she wasn't going to touch alcohol again anytime soon.

"Amu…" Ikuto moved his hands up to her face to wipe away the tears that were still falling.

His deep voice seemed to resonate through her body and shudder her bones. Amu's eyes fluttered open at this. And in that drunken moment, with her eyes fixed on his, she wanted to kiss him. Well, Amu reasoned that she didn't have to be drunk in order to feel this. But in order to act on it she had to be pretty out of it.

Which she was. So with the booming music and obnoxious voices blurring into the distance, she went against her screaming conscience and kissed him. Right on those warm lips of his, standing on her tiptoes and everything. She'd hate herself later. For now she'd enjoy kissing the boy of her dreams and enjoy the feeling of him actually kissing her back.

He was kissing her back! Ikuto was actually kissing her- wait a minute, she was _kissing_ Ikuto?

Amu quickly got to her senses and pushed him away, watching with wide, glistening eyes as he stumbled back and fell into the pool behind him. Only Amu would be capable of shoving someone into a pool one second after kissing them.

"Oh no, no, no, no!" The pinkette scrambled about in wonder of what to do in this situation. Her heart hammered against her chest and in her hysteria, she bolted, fleeing from the scene as fast as her short legs could take her.

The tears started all over again as she made it to the front lawn, spotting Utau and Kukai sitting at the swing set.

"U-Utau…" She managed to croak out.

Utau and Kukai both looked up. He cringed and looked uncomfortable at the sight of her tears while Utau's eyes widened.

"What'd she do to you!" She snarled while standing up in a fury.

"N-n-n-no, it w-wasn't Lulu." Amu murmured through her tears. She absolutely hated being an emotional drunk. She'd rather be anything else - slutty, abusive…okay no, she'd rather be emotional, but _this_ was just ridiculous.

Utau's eyes softened at first, but once realizing that it was her brother's doing, her gaze turned stone cold as she scanned her surroundings. "That boy better run and hide if he wants to make it through the night alive."

"N-no it wasn't really his doing either," Amu said quickly, "I just…I can't believe I actually pushed him into the pool!"

Utau and Kukai stared with wide eyes once learning this new information. It took a moment for it to sink in, but when it did, Kukai was the first to react. He laughed loudly with no sensitivity to how Amu was feeling right now. She felt like a total dirt bag. Or worse…a bitch. Something she had been calling Lulu this entire time, when really, perhaps she was the one who deserved the name.

"This isn't who I am, Utau!" Amu cried, "I never should have had anything to drink because I can't control my emotions and it's all just-" She settled with explaining her feelings by exhaling loudly. She needed sleep. Then she'd be a lot more stable.

"Can I stay at your place tonight?"

Utau didn't even have to answer before she and Kukai lead the way to his car.

The blond slid into the backseat to resume comforting Amu while Kukai grabbed the driver's seat. Once they were all buckled in, Kukai finally said what was on his mind.

"So um… did I miss something?"


	15. Tell Me A Lie

**_"Tell me I'm a screwed up mess, that I never listen. Tell me you don't want my kiss, that you need your distance." - One Direction_**

**Chapter 15: Tell Me A Lie**

Utau had been right when she assumed she'd have a long day ahead of her when Amu woke up. So before her pink-haired friend had emerged from her slumber, she made a large cup of hot tea while mentally preparing herself for the outburst Amu would present her with as soon as she recalled last night's events.

She couldn't have been more right, she noted again as she watched Amu pace the room with a toothbrush in her mouth.

Amu had insisted on stopping by her house last night to pick up some necessities for their sleepover - including her most precious toothbrush.

Amu's eyebrows were slanted downwards as she frowned around her toothbrush. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun with stray bits dangling out.

Utau watched calmly from her seat at her desk as Amu stomped off to the bathroom to rinse the toothpaste from her mouth.

"I'll never be able to look at him again!" She paused to spit, "I'm moving to Canada!"

"You never have been good with geography, Amu," Utau reminded calmly while inspecting her nails. She reached into the drawer of her desk and removed some purple nail polish as Amu's voice sounded again.

"Minor details! I'll be able to find Canada no problem. Just look for a whole colony of people who live in igloos and worship beavers, right?"

Smiling in secret, Utau shook her nail polish to mix the color. "Not quite," she mumbled, though she was sure Amu wasn't listening, anyways.

Calmly brushing the color onto her nails, Utau watched in amusement as Amu re-entered the room in a never-ending fluster.

"I-I just can't believe I did that! I probably destroyed our friendship!"

"Okay, Amu, calm the crap down," Utau advised after pushing her nail polish to the side, "Did he kiss you back?"

Amu stopped mid-pace to look at Utau, bewildered, as if the thought had never crossed her mind until now. She was silent as she closed her mouth and frowned, her gaze dropping to the carpet as she tried to recall the events of the night before.

"I…don't remember," She finally admitted meekly, fully aware of the outburst that would soon follow.

Utau nearly tossed her desk through the wall and into the hallway.

"How can you not remember such an important detail?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"STOP YELLING!" Utau exclaimed in fear that her mom would hear them from downstairs and wonder what was happening. "Okay, fine…" the blond began on a much calmer note, "just pretend like you were so out of it that you don't remember anything."

The life returned to Amu's widening eyes as this was processed. "Th-that could work!"

She exhaled a sigh of relief and slowly sank onto the edge of Utau's bed. It felt as though the weight had lifted off her shoulders and she could now breath again with ease. Now she no longer wanted to rip her hair out and live under a rock for the rest of her life - though the idea did sound a little appealing.

Utau watched the noticeable change occur on Amu's features as she began to relax. Once again, she reached for her nail polish to resume the job she had abandoned just moments earlier.

Amu's eyes widened again as her heart hammered, remembering something that had completely slipped her mind.

"…U-Utau..?"

Not bothering to glance up, the blond hummed in reply.

"He's texted me a few times this morning and I've been ignoring him," the words quickly tumbled out of Amu's mouth as her panic returned in full-blast, "he's going to know something's wrong just because of that!"

Utau frowned and she froze her nail-painting just so she wouldn't screw it up. Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was a little after one in the afternoon. She turned her attention back to Amu with a slight grimace, "You think he'll believe you if you say that you just woke up and hadn't gotten his texts until now?"

The pinkette took this into consideration. Ikuto did know that she enjoyed her sleep far too much to wake up in the early hours in the morning. It would be considered believable if she were to use that as an excuse.

At this, Amu breathed out another sigh of relief and dropped back onto Utau's bed so she was lying down. "I'm saved." She whispered to herself, though Utau heard her clearly and rolled her eyes. Amu tended to be a little over-dramatic when she was under stress.

After a few calm moments had passed with only the ticking of the clock to fill the room with noise, Amu finally pulled herself up and declared they go search for some food in the kitchen, which Utau eagerly agreed to as she picked up the nail polish and brought it down with her.

They were greeted with the smell of Souko's cooking as they entered the warm kitchen.

The blond woman glanced up and smiled at them. Amu never was able to get over how crazy the resemblance was between Utau and her mom. Their golden hair was identical as well as their deep violet eyes that seemed to see even the unseen. Souko was more on the gentle side, though.

"And they finally emerge," Souko commented as she emptied four plates out of the cupboard, "What, did the bed catch on fire?"

Utau gave her mom an unimpressed glance as she picked up the plates and brought them to the table with Amu following behind with the cups. "You're so funny. You could be a comedian."

Souko smiled at her daughter as she turned back to stir whatever was in the pot on the stove. "I try."

Setting the dishes around the table, Amu frowned and re-counted the number of plates before counting how many people were in the house.

"Is your step-dad not working today?" the pinkette asked as she placed a fourth cup down.

Utau looked up and counted the places as well before frowning. "He's never here in the daytime," she replied before turning to call to her mom, "Why are we setting the table for four people? It's just you, me, and Amu."

The two teenagers wandered back into the kitchen to get the water pitcher and napkins.

Souko looked up at this. "Oh, I invited your brother to have lunch with us," she announced, seemingly oblivious to the drop in the atmosphere, "I haven't seen him in ages and talking on the phone isn't the same as seeing my boy in person. Plus, he _is_ coming back to live here tomorrow, so we might as well get used to it again…" she drifted off upon seeing the two girls glance at each other worriedly.

"Is…everything alright? Oh come on, he's still your brother. You're not holding a grudge against him, are you?"

Utau quickly shook her head just before Amu pulled her back upstairs to her room, making sure to close the door behind them.

"Utau! I can't see him! I can't, it's way too soon and I'm going to screw it up and there's no way I'll be able to convince him that I have no idea what happened last night because in case you haven't noticed, I tend to blush very easily whenever I lie or really just during any inconvenient moment!" Amu's words were flying out of her mouth a mile a minute. "I need to talk to Rima! She can easily think of an escape route o-or she can distract Ikuto for a few minutes - and she can get Ami to help, too!"

Placing two hands securely on her shoulders, Utau looked Amu sternly in the eyes. "Amu, Rima's on a date with her new boyfriend, remember? And Nagihiko would kill you if you interrupted their first official date as a couple. Plus, Ikuto's probably already on his way. Just calm down and be cool. It'll all be fine if you can just act naturally."

"How can I act naturally when I kissed him and now I'm ignoring his texts? _He knows everything_," Amu added the last part in darkly as she glared up at Utau. They were having a silent war with their eyes as they stared each other down in a tense silence.

"I hate your brother."

"So do I."

"Let's be friends."

"Deal. This fills my heart with rainbows." Utau had said it in such a dull voice that it made Amu break into a smile, temporarily forgetting what she had been so worried about.

"Doesn't fill _my_ heart with rainbows." A smooth voice pouted from the doorway of the room.

Amu's heart clunked to the bottom of her stomach as she forgot how to breath. Utau jumped slightly and turned to glare at her brother as she held onto Amu protectively.

"Go away, meanie." Utau stuck her tongue out while Amu buried her face into the blond's shoulder to hide from Ikuto.

Ikuto's attention caught briefly on Amu's movement before he looked back at his sister. "Dearest sibling, mom needs you to finish setting the table."

"Why don't _you_ do it?"

"I've also taken the nail polish you left on the kitchen counter and I will return it to you when I'm done talking with Amu." He added in passively, though there was a dark twist to his voice as he calmly challenged Utau with his eyes.

Lightning was crackling between the two siblings as they watched each other's every move.

Amu didn't dare look up. She pleaded that Utau would somehow manage to push aside her obsession with nail polish and stick with her through this so she wasn't forced to face Ikuto alone. But once feeling Utau shift, Amu knew she was doomed, forced to stay in this room with the one person she couldn't make eye-contact with at the moment.

"You'd better not do anything with that nail polish," Utau warned as she slowly moved away from Amu, "and don't harm that girl or I will chop off Ikuto Jr." her narrowed gaze stayed on Ikuto as she slowly exited the room and made her way down the stairs.

Once she was out of sight, Ikuto closed the door and slowly turned to look at Amu, who had suddenly found great interest in the carpet beneath her feet. She had to admit, it was pretty dang soft. Like panda fur. Or unicorn crap. She had never felt unicorn crap, believe it or not, but she would imagine it was soft and magical.

Ikuto leaned against the door calmly with his hands in his pockets. "Judging by how you've been avoiding my texts, I take it you remember last night."

Amu winced and shifted her gaze to the violet wall beside her. "I meant to text and tell you that I had just woken up so I hadn't read your texts yet - b-but then we went downstairs to eat and it just kind of…slipped my mind."

She could feel his eyes on her and refused to meet his gaze.

"…So you haven't been purposely ignoring me?" His tone of voice let her know that he didn't believe her. At all. Ikuto never was one to be stupid and a little air-headed. He was constantly on the ball and could read people's emotions like an open book. She had always hated that, especially now.

"Why would I?" She asked quietly.

"Why can't you look at me?" He questioned in return.

Amu held her breath as she heard him take a step closer to her. If he so much as placed a hand on her arm, she was sure she'd melt into a puddle and apologize in every language she knew while making a complete idiot out of herself.

Chewing down on her tongue, she forced her golden orbs to flicker over to his. "What do you want?" She sighed.

Man, how was he so good looking? His eyes were bottomless yet mysterious and his defined cheekbones were the cherry on top of his facial features. Plus, how his looks were so effortless was also an attractive trait. He could roll out of bed and he'd already be set for the day.

Amu glanced up at his hair and resisted the urge to smile. It was always in a permanent state of slightly-tamed bedhead.

"I want…" he began slowly as he took another step closer and she took another step back.

"To talk about that kiss."

Her eyes widened as she felt her blush betraying her again. Now all her plans were ruined. She couldn't lie to him while blushing like a guilty fool, so she was forced to tell the truth.

"Wh-what does it matter?" Amu groaned as she turned to face him fully, "I was tipsy and ridiculously emotional and you looked unbelievably attractive. But that doesn't matter because I didn't even want to kiss you - I just _did_, f-for no reason and, as best friend, I fully support you and Lulu together, no matter how much I dislike her. All that matters is your happiness." Saying it out loud made her feel even worse than when it was in her head. She was going to hell for being a rotten liar, she just knew it.

A ghost of a frown crossed Ikuto's lips as his eyebrows slanted downwards. "Me and Lulu?" He repeated monotonously as he watched her carefully.

Shrugging, the pinkette glanced away from him. "You two seemed pretty happy together last night and all so I wouldn't be surprised if you two decided to get back together-"

"That's not happening." He stated bleakly.

Amu glanced back at him with an arched eyebrow. "And why not? Was it the dress she was wearing that turned you off? Or the fact that she's a total bi- …bitter woman?" She wasn't going to go off on another swearing streak like she did the night before. "A-and what was with that, anyway? Why didn't you tell her to put on an astronaut suit? Is it because her body is too hot to hide, or what?"

Ikuto closed in on her and leaned down so his lips brushed against her ear, sparking color to her cheeks again. "You want to know why I told you to wear a spacesuit and nobody else?"

Swallowing thickly, it took Amu a moment to find her voice, so she settled with a nod.

She felt his hand gently rest on her waist. Her eyes fluttered closed at the touch as she leaned into him. Feeling her move closer, Ikuto stepped in so their bodies were flush against each other.

"Because you don't know how turned on I was when I saw you in that skirt." He whispered in her ear, sending tingles down her spine. "No one else can see the body you have."

Amu just about jumped him right there, but the nagging of the joke about her lack-of-chest became fresh in her memory as she glanced down at the ground.

"What body? Like Lulu said, I'm like a board." She spoke quietly, too intimidated by his closeness to bring her voice any louder.

Ikuto hummed as he pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. "So you're more on the flat side…" His hand cautiously moved up to the side of her ribcage, his thumb gently brushing the side of her breast - not wanting to move too fast, for her sake, "but there's definitely something there."

"Wh-wh-wh-what about Lulu?" Amu asked quietly as her skin continued to tingle delightfully.

At this he stepped away from her, making her regret ever saying anything. His intense stare pierced into her as he tugged on a loose strand of her hair.

"You know when you asked why I broke up with her?"

Amu nodded.

"And I said it was because I loved you and not her?"

Another, more hesitant, nod.

Ikuto leaned down and placed a soft kiss to the side of her lips. "It was the truth."

Before this, Amu never knew what it was like to cry out of happiness. Of course she had experienced crying from laughing too hard, but never had she cried just because she was entirely happy.

With tear-filled eyes, she threw her arms around Ikuto's neck and pulled him down to her level so she could reach his lips. She slowly pulled away with a shy blush and ran her fingers through his hair as he leaned down and pressed another soft kiss to her lips. He wrapped his arms around her middle to pull her closer as they parted briefly before meeting again more avidly.

Even though she had already kissed him once before, she didn't think she'd ever get used to how his kisses made her feel weak in the knees while her stomach did back flips.

A vibrating from the bedside table behind them sounded loudly, pulling them back to the real world.

Neither of them were ready to split just yet, but Amu knew that it could very well have been her dad on the other line. If he was faced with no answer from her line, he'd have a cow and send out a search party.

Ikuto slowly pulled back from her and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I-I should get that," Amu said shyly.

He nodded to show he understood before he walked over to get the phone for her while she sunk into the desk chair before her legs could give out.

Once seeing who it was on call display, Ikuto smirked and answered the phone before Amu could get it away from him.

"Hey, Tadase? It's Ikuto."

Amu watched in horror and attempted to lift herself up off the seat, only to fall back down when Ikuto pushed her back.

"You had a movie date?" He repeated while sending Amu a sly look. She started to explain but Ikuto leaned down and silenced her with another kiss, all the while listening to Tadase continue to speak on the other line.

"Amu can't go with you today," Ikuto replied as he stood up straight to give Amu breathing space, "she's too busy enjoying the company of her boyfriend." He mercilessly hung up before kissing his new girlfriend again.

**A/N: Hi there. So there's one more chapter and then this story is OVER! WHOOO. And I've been really inspired to write another angst for my next story. But I want it to be centered on Ikuto's life instead. Problem is, I can't think of a plot. ….ehheh. So hey if anyone has any extra ideas lying around and you wouldn't mind sharing, perhaps I'll get a plot idea! See you in a few days!**


	16. Just The Girl

**A/N: Ahhh we had a good run, folks. Good stuff. Oh and for those who haven't caught on yet, this story was inspired by the song 'Just the Girl' by the Click Five. (Go forth and listen if you would like to experience the magic of the lyrics that I tied into this story in one way or another.) Soon I shall publish a new story. Until then, STAY GOLD PONYBOY. (I've been saying that a lot lately, even ask En ar Ciel. True story, bro.)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16: Just the Girl<strong>

The dinging of the bell hanging on the door of the ice cream parlour sounded happily as another customer trickled in.

The bell caught Amu's attention briefly as she tuned out of the current conversation she was partaking in.

There weren't as many people crowding in through the door as there had been in the summer. Now that it was almost October, not many people felt the need to indulge in any iced desserts. This logic made no sense to Amu, as she found that ice cream was appropriate for any and all months of the year. And it was a good thing that Ikuto agreed; otherwise he'd grow weary very quickly with their random trips to the ice cream shop.

"I might try bubblegum this time."

Amu's attention snapped back to Ikuto with wide eyes, "what about chocolate?" He was _not_ about to change his traditional ice cream flavour. That would throw everything for a loop and screw up the entire system. She might just run away and sob in a corner of the parlour beside some unsuspecting elderly couple.

His sneaky gaze slid over to her as his eyes twinkled in amusement. "Just making sure you were still with us."

Rolling her eyes, Amu scoffed, sputtered, and folded her arms tightly across her chest. Of course he was just teasing. She should have known.

She pointedly turned her attention away from the taller teen beside her and huffed in annoyance. They both knew she was just putting on a show to get his attention. Yet she didn't feel the least bit embarrassed. She had the right to want his attention to be just on her every now and then. Therefore, she continued to pretend to be utterly annoyed with him as she stubbornly marched ahead of him out of the shop with her ice cream

Ikuto easily caught up and resumed his position beside her as they wandered down the windy paths of the park.

After a few quiet moments, he threw his arm around Amu's shoulders and pulled her into his chest, where he placed his chin on the top of her head and pouted, though she wasn't able to see him.

"Don't be mad."

Amu tried to keep a straight face, though her heart was fluttering, "Who said I was mad?"

Ikuto gave her a quick kiss before he resumed walking, leading the way.

Words couldn't describe the feeling that was brewing in her chest as Amu hurried after him. Ikuto wasn't a fan of PDA and hardly ever showed any affection in public, but she treasured that character trait. It just showed that whenever he did do something cute in public, it meant that much more to her.

She watched his effortlessly graceful stride turn to sit on a bench, one that she recognized from the summertime.

His long limbs folded into the seat with ease and she followed after, sitting cross-legged beside him while admiring the assembly of colors fall from the trees in the form of leafs.

Sighing happily, Amu leaned back against the bench and basked in the glow of being outside on a warm autumn day while eating ice cream with her best friend - who she also happened to have the privilege of calling her boyfriend, which gave her permission to kiss him whenever she wanted, cuddle with whenever, and, when the time came, satisfy both his and her needs on a more physical level.

She nearly blushed once thinking of it, but quickly veered her thoughts to something a little more G-rated so she wouldn't turn into a gushing tomato right beside him, which would make him instantly assume she was thinking the most perverted thing imaginable.

Amu was pulled out of her thoughts by an elbow being wiggled into her ribcage. She yelped out in surprise and swatted Ikuto's arm away in a huff.

"What was that for?"

He just nodded towards a set of chairs nearby.

Amu followed his gesture and noticed a small, elderly lady who looked awfully familiar. She squinted her eyes to make sure she was seeing things right.

"Is that-?"

The lady tottered up off her chair and leaned on her cane as she slowly manoeuvred her way past them. She caught their eye just as she was passing and she smiled at them affectionately.

"It's nice to see teenagers who aren't molesting each other in public," she commented with an all-knowing nod, "how long have you been together?"

Amu's eyes softened as she smiled at the old woman. It certainly was the lady they had encountered back in August, when she had asked them the same thing. It was a shame that she didn't remember them, though.

Ikuto wrapped his arm around Amu's shoulder, giving her a tingling sense of dejavu. "About two months," he replied calmly. And this time, he wasn't talking about their friendship.

The old lady's expression was hard to read at first as she continued to watch them admirably. But with a knowing smile, she continued on her way.

"And before you know it, it'll be two years." She commented confidently before shuffling over to meet up with an elderly man, who had just shown up from the opposite direction.

Amu watched the elderly couple walk off together and her insides turned into mush as she felt all warm inside. Now _that_ was love.

Ikuto noticed her stare was still hooked on the couple and smirked before shaking his head. He pressed his nose into her hair as he kissed her head briefly before detaching his arm from her shoulders so he could resume eating his ice cream - which he ordered to come in a bowl, of course.

He was still as boring as usual when it came to ice cream. How unoriginal. He was like a cheerio and Amu was a fruit loop. She went right ahead and told him this happily as she nibbled at her waffle cone - which clearly was the deciding factor between being unique or being unoriginal.

Narrowing his eyes, Ikuto stopped eating. He watched the pink-haired girl slowly turn to look at him upon noticing his silence

She gazed at him with wide, curious eyes as she licked at her chocolate ice cream. "What?" She recognized that mischievous glint all too well in those beautiful eyes of his. Said eyes were watching her every move as she shuffled further down the bench.

"A cheerio?" He repeated in a bored tone.

Biting on her bottom lip, Amu tried not to grin too cheekily just so he wouldn't become even more mischievous and start plotting revenge. "What's wrong, cheerio?"

Ikuto leaned down, close enough to smell her shampoo. His gaze pierced through Amu's as he inched closer to her and lowered his voice. "Cheerios may taste freaking delicious…" he trailed off purposefully once noticing the coloring of his girlfriend's cheeks. He gently let his fingers brush up and down her arms, "But, I'd say…"

He leaned down and took a huge bite of her waffle cone - nearly devouring the entire thing before he stood up straight and continued to walk. "You can keep your title of a fruit loop. Waffle cones are disgusting." He said after swallowing the bite he had taken.

Still trying to process what happened, Amu sat dumbfounded, staring off into the distance with glazed eyes. Once realizing that he had basically seduced her simply to swipe some of her ice cream, something inside of her snapped as she ran after the boy who was already hurrying away.

"IKUTO!"

_'Cause she's bittersweet, she knocks me off my feet. And I can't help myself, I don't want anyone else. She's a mystery. She's too much for me. But I keep coming back for more._  
><em>She's just the girl I'm looking for.<em>

**The End**


End file.
